The  Job,  The  Man, 
The  Boss 


Books  by  the  Authors 

ANALYZING  CHARACTER 
BLONDES  AND  BRUNETTES 

CHARACTER  ANALYSIS  BY  THE 
OBSERVATIONAL  METHOD 

MAN  AND  His  JOB 

READING  CHARACTER  AT  SIGHT 
THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  Boss 


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THE  JOB,  THE  MAN, 
THE  BOSS 


BY 
KATHERINE  M.  H.  BLACKFORD,  M.  D. 

AND 

ARTHUR  NEWCOMB 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y.,  AND  TORONTO 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
1921 


Copyright,  1914, 1921,  by 
KATHERINE  M.  H.  BLACKFORD,  M.  D. 

AH  rights  reserved,  including  that  of 

translation  into  foreign  languages, 

including  the  Scandinavian 


AGRIC.  DEjPT, 


PREFACE  TO  REVISED   EDITION 

WHEN  this  book  first  appeared,  the  plan  it  pro- 
posed was  new.  The  principles  upon  which  the 
plan  was  based  were  old,  as  all  principles  are, 
but  were  applied  in  a  new  way.  The  problems 
attacked  were  as  old  as  humanity  itself,  but  they 
were  stated  in  a  new  way  and  attacked  from  a  new 
angle.  The  authors  had  tried  the  plan.  They  had 
found  that  while  it  did  not  usher  in  an  industrial 
millennium,  and  probably  was  not  destined  to 
do  so,  it  did  help  toward  a  solution  of  the  old  prob- 
lems. But  they  were  prepared  to  have  their  plan 
greeted  with  indifference,  skepticism  and  even 
hostility.  They  cannot  present  this  revised  edition, 
therefore,  without  expressing  their  gratification  for 
the  promptness  and  cordiality  of  the  welcome  given 
both  the  book  and  the  plan. 

Within  the  six  years  since  the  first  publication  of 
'this  book  we  have  seen  the  plan  adopted  in  its 
essentials  by  practically  all  progressive  employers 
of  large  numbers  of  men  and  women  in  this  country 
and  also  by  many  in  other  lands.  We  have  seen 
hundreds  of  investigators,  engineers,  students,  per- 
sonnel experts  and  university  research  workers 

V 

463435 


vi  PREFACE 

studying  the  plan,  experimenting  with  it,  collecting 
data  in  regard  to  it  and  elaborating  upon  it.  We 
have  seen  the  United  States  Government  adopt 
it  for  all  industries  working  on  government  con- 
tracts, and  conducting  free  courses  of  instruction 
in  a  number  of  prominent  universities  teaching 
hundreds  of  men  and  women  how  to  operate 
the  plan  in  industry. 

Six  years  ago  "The  Job,  the  Man,  the  Boss" 
was  alone  in  the  field.  To-day  there  is  a  vast 
literature  on  the  subject,  ranging  all  the  way  from 
newspaper  and  magazine  articles,  both  popular 
and  technical,  to  a  veritable  library  of  pamphlets, 
reports  and  books.  Additions  to  this  store  of 
knowledge  and  opinions  are  being  made  con- 
stantly. 

All  this  is  not  only  gratifying,  but  it  makes  the 
task  of  the  present  revision  an  easy  one.  It  is  true 
that  in  the  six  years  since  the  book's  first  appear- 
ance there  have  been  many  changes  in  conditions. 
The  world  during  that  time  has  passed  through 
a  cataclysm  from  which  it  has  hardly  begun  to 
recover.  Many  new,  intricate  and  difficult  phases 
of  the  old  problem  have  arisen,  and  are  still  arising. 
In  many  respects,  indeed,  the  old  problem  seems  to 
be  further  away  from  solution  to-day  than  it  has 
ever  been  before.  The  difficulties  to  be  sur- 
mounted by  the  employers  of  to-day  make  those 


PREFACE  vii 

confronting  them  in  1914  seem  like  mere  child's 
play.  It  is  true,  also,  that  six  years  of  widespread 
experience  with  this  plan  has  brought  to  light  many 
refinements  and  new  details,  many  new  ideas  as  to 
application  under  various  circumstances  and  con- 
ditions. It  is  true  that  the  book  now  seems  to 
the  authors  to  be  written  in  the  light  and  in  the 
language  of  olden  times.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, a  thorough  re-writing  and  modernization 
of  the  book  might  have  been  attempted.  That 
it  has  not  been  is  due  to  several  considerations. 

Many  employment  departments  have  been  ob- 
served in  operation.  Many  conferences  on  em- 
ployment and  labour  have  been  attended.  Prac- 
tically all  of  the  published  literature  on  the  subject 
has  been  examined.  And  no  essential  departure 
from  the  principles  and  the  plan  as  given  in  the 
original  edition  of  this  book  has  been  revealed. 

As  to  the  elaboration  of  the  plan,  as  to  experience 
in  its  operations,  as  to  variations  in  detail  to  suit 
various  industries  and  conditions,  as  to  its  applica- 
tion to  the  disturbing  problems  confronting  em- 
ployers to-day:  all  these  subjects  are  treated  in 
later  works  on  employment. 

It  has  seemed  better,  therefore,  not  to  disturb 
this  book  in  its  original  character  as  thg^xaggel, 
as  it  were,  of  what  is  called  the  employment  move- 
ment. Revision  has,  accordingly,  been  confined 


viii  PREFACE 

to  the  elimination  of  material  now  either  outworn 
or  irrelevant,  to  the  alteration  of  forms  and 
methods,  so  that  they  will  conform  to  the  present 
day  practice,  and  to  the  adding  of  some  material 
which  the  authors  believe  will  be  of  value  under 
present  conditions. 

This  preface  is  perhaps  the  best  place  to  answer 
some  questions  raised  in  the  minds  of  many  read- 
ers of  former  editions. 

1.  In  response  to  repeated  inquiries  it  is  well  to 
state  that  scientific  employment  has  accomplished 
and  is  accomplishing  satisfactory  results  in  non- 
union, open  and  strictly  union  shops.  In  non- 
union shops,  the  employment  supervisor  acts  as 
intermediary  and  represents,  not  only  employers 
to  employees  but  the  interests  of  employees  to 
employers.  The  same  is  true  in  open  shops.  In 
strictly  union  shops,  the  employment  supervisor 
keeps  in  constant  communication  with  officials  and 
business  agents  of  the  unions.  These,  in  turn, 
recognizing  the  value  of  an  impartial  friend  at 
court,  cooperate  loyally  with  him.  In  one  factory 
where  the  unions  are  unusually  strong,  the  em- 
ployment supervisor  has,  by  impartiality,  fair- 
dealing  and  justice,  so  completely  won  the  con- 
fidence of  the  officials  of  the  various  unions,  that 
they  uphold  his  decisions  and  support  his  regula- 
tions, even  to  the  point  of  disciplining  their  own 


PREFACE  ix 

members  when  any  of  them  do  not  play  fair.  In 
another  factory,  also  completely  unionized,  the 
employment  supervisor  is  esteemed  so  highly  that 
intra-  and  inter-union  disputes  are  sometimes 
referred  to  him  as  arbitrator. 

2.  During  the  eight  years  this  plan  has  been  in 
operation,  labour  conditions  have  run  the  gamut  of 
almost  all  possible  changes.  There  have  been 
extremes  of  unemployment  and  labour  shortage. 
There  have  been  low  wages  and  high  wages.  There 
have  been  periods  of  comparative  industrial  peace 
and  times  of  the  most  severe  unrest  and  turmoil. 
Readjustments  have  had  to  be  made  swiftly  and 
frequently. 

When  the  first  scientific  employment  depart- 
ment began  its  work,  applicants  were  so  many 
that  selection  was  the  paramount  problem.  Within 
a  short  time,  the  cry  was,  "Get  a  man — any  man — 
to  fill  this  job!"  The  problem  was  to  keep  the 
ranks  full — to  hire  anybody — at  any  price.  Em- 
ployers said,  "Scientific  selection  is  impossible. 
We  don't  need  an  employment  department — what 
we  need  is  a  strong-arm  recruiting  force."  Then 
came  another  change.  Problems  multiplied.  In- 
dustrial warfare  broke  out  in  hundreds  of  places. 
As  if  this  were  not  enough,  employers  every- 
where complained  that,  although  receiving  the 
highest  wages  they  had  ever  known,  employees 


x  PREFACE 

were  doing  less  work  and  poorer  work  than  ever 
before. 

Through  all  these  vicissitudes,  scientific  em- 
ployment has  proved  its  worth.  When  selection 
was  the  test,  the  departments  showed  records 
of  from  seventy-five  to  ninety-two  per  cent,  satis- 
factory and  fairly  permanent  placements.  On  a 
basis  of  labour  turnover,  the  results  ran  from  twenty 
five  to  eighty  per  cent,  reduction. 

When  opportunities  for  selection  had  fallen  to  a 
minimum  the  employment  departments  turned 
their  attention  to  three  principal  efforts:  first, 
to  make  the  best  use  of  those  employed,  by  scienti- 
fic assignment  and  other  means;  second,  to  keep 
the  best  employees — and  keep  them  happy  and 
efficient;  third,  to  push  recruiting  by  every  legiti- 
mate means. 

As  a  result,  some  organizations  scarcely  felt  the 
labour  shortage.  Efficiency  remained  high — in  some 
cases  even  increased.  As  an  example  of  recruiting, 
one  of  our  employment  supervisors  brought  to- 
gether, employed,  housed  and  fed,  at  a  time  when 
labour  shortage  was  most  severe,  thirty  thousand 
men  for  a  war  industry. 

Strikes,  walkouts,  and  other  such  troubles  have 
been  almost  unknown  in  organizations  where 
scientific  employment  has  been  installed,  and  such 
as  have  occurred  have  been  confined  to  small 


PREFACE  xi 

groups  and  short-lived.  A  well-trained  employ- 
ment supervisor  knows  an  agitator  or  trouble- 
maker at  sight  and  always  has  a  good  reason  for  not 
employing  him.  In  one  factory  strikes  which  had 
been  breaking  out  frequently  for  years  ceased 
entirely  soon  after  a  scientific  employment  depart- 
ment had  been  installed — and  the  chief  cause  was 
the  ability  of  the  employment  supervisor  to  har- 
monize warring  factions  and  to  spot  and  exclude 
agitators. 

3.  We  have  been  besieged  from  many  quarters 
for  facts  and  opinions  upon  such  subjects  as  profit- 
sharing,  task  and  bonus  system,  industrial  de- 
mocracy, and  other  suggested  remedies  for  in- 
dustrial ills.  Experience  would  seem  to  indicate] 
that  a  management  of  strong,  just,  courageous,  \ 
winning  personality  and  a  real  interest  in  fellow 
workers  can  make  a  success  of  almost  any  kind  of 
organization,  compensation  and  government;  while 
no  method  or  system  can  succeed  in  weak,  unjust 
or  badly  advised  hands.  Unquestionably,  a  skilled 
hand  can  do  a  better  job  with  a  good  tool  than 
with  a  poor  one,  but  no  tool  can  give  either  strength 
or  skill  to  a  palsied  or  awkward  hand.  Hence 
the  conclusion  that  the  employer  or  executive 
who  cannot  make  a  fair  success  with  his  present 
system  of  compensation  and  government  need 
expect  no  great  help  from  any  other — and  the  more 


xii  PREFACE 

revolutionary  the  new  system,  the  more  trouble 
he  is  likely  to  have  with  it. 

The  relation  of  employer  and  employee  is  es- 
sentially a  personal  one.  The  employee  gives  his 
loyalty,  if  at  all,  to  a  personal  leader,  and  not  to  any 
system,  no  matter  how  attractive.  Herein  lies 
the  value  of  making  an  employment  supervisor, 
especially  fitted  for  the  task  by  character  and 
training,  the  personal  representative  of  employer 
to  employee  and  responsible  for  maintaining  har- 
monious relationships. 

Some  conclusions  based  upon  the  authors'  ex- 
perience since  the  first  edition  was  written  may  be 
of  value. 

1.  The  most  striking  and  most  beneficial  results 
of  scientific  employment  have  been  obtained,  not 
by  direct  dealing  with  the  rank  and  file  of  the  or- 
ganization, but  by  the  selection,  assignment,  and 
reassignment  of  important  executives,  such  as 
superintendents,  managers,  and  engineers. 

In  one  case  production  had  been  decreasing  for 
several  years,  while  costs  of  operations  had  been 
increasing.  There  was  inharmony  in  the  factory 
organization,  and  serious  discord  even  in  the 
Board  of  Directors  as  a  result.  A  splendid  sur- 
plus from  many  years  of  profitable  operation 
was  being  depleted.  Various  remedies  had  been 
applied  in  vain.  Finally,  almost  as  a  last  resort, 


PREFACE  xiii 

the  management  resolved  to  try  scientific  em- 
ployment. 

A  careful  analysis  of  the  organization  was  made, 
as  a  preliminary  to  the  installation  of  a  scientific 
employment  department.  This  analysis  soon  con- 
vinced us  that  the  most  serious  trouble  of  the  organ- 
ization could  be  traced  to  the  works'  manager, 
a  fine  capable  man,  popular  with  the  management 
and  Board  of  Directors,  but  not  fitted  for  the  posi- 
tion he  occupied.  Under  these  conditions,  it  was 
not  easy  to  convince  the  management  and  Board 
of  Directors  that  a  change  should  be  made.  After 
several  months,  however,  facts  and  figures  pre- 
sented in  the  form  of  regular  reports  had  their 
effect,  and  the  employment  department  was  given 
permission  to  select  a  new  works'  manager. 

The  new  executive  was  selected  for  qualifications 
which  seemed  especially  desirable  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. He  faced  a  difficult  task  when  he 
took  office,  since  he  had  to  create  practically  a 
new  factory  organization  from  the  ground  up, 
abolish  habits  of  waste  and  inefficiency  which  had 
become  traditional,  bring  about  harmony  between 
the  various  elements  of  the  organization,  and  turn 
a  losing  venture  into  a  profitable  one. 

He  had  been  chosen  for  his  force  of  personality, 
organizing  ability,  executive  ability,  strong  sense 
of  efficiency,  and  knowledge  of  sound  principles 


xiv  PREFACE 

of  management.  He  was  optimistic,  determined 
and  persistent.  With  such  qualifications  as  these, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  one  by  one,  he  overcame 
the  difficulties  he  faced,  developed  a  genuine 
esprit  de  corps  in  the  factory,  pushed  up  production 
notch  by  notch  until  it  far  exceeded  any  previous 
record,  and  this  with  reduction  in  costs.  The 
change  brought  about  harmony  and  good  feeling 
in  the  Board  of  Directors.  Thus,  whereas  the 
solvency  of  the  corporation  had  been  threatened, 
and  nearly  every  one  was  in  an  anxious  and  ugly 
mood,  the  surplus  is  now  being  annually  increased 
and  the  dividends  are  larger  than  ever  before. 

The  case  of  a  factory  making  an  entirely  different 
line  of  goods  and  suffering  from  somewhat  different 
troubles  is  equally  illuminating. 

This  factory  had  been  in  business  for  a  dozen 
years  or  more,  during  which  it  had  not  made  a 
dollar  of  profit  or  paid  a  penny  of  dividend.  It  was 
manufacturing  an  excellent  product,  the  highest 
grade  of  its  kind,  bore  a  high  reputation,  but  suf- 
fered from  the  fact  that  while  the  factory  manager 
had  the  highest  technical  ability,  training,  and  ex- 
perience, he  had  neither  the  aptitude  nor  the  in- 
clination to  qualify  him  as  a  handler  and  leader 
of  men  and  organizer  for  intensive  production. 

Upon  recommendation  of  the  employment  de- 
partment this  man  was  placed  where  he  belonged 


PREFACE  xv 

as  head  of  the  engineering  staff,  and  where  he  was 
not  only  successful,  but  happy.  A  new  factory 
manager  was  selected  with  the  following  results: 

For  two  years  the  average  number  of  units 
produced  daily  averaged  fifty;  while  the  number 
of  employees  averaged  four  hundred  and  forty. 

Within  three  months  after  the  new  factory 
manager  had  taken  charge  daily  production  had 
increased  to  seventy-six  units:  the  number  of 
employees  had  fallen  to  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
five. 

In  still  another  mill,  a  new  superintendent  of 
manufacturing,  suggested  and  selected  by  the 
employment  department,  brought  about  within 
a  year  an  increase  of  production  of  fifteen  per  cent, 
with  no  increase  in  the  number  of  employees,  and 
with  greatly  reduced  costs.  This  occurred  during 
1919  and  1920,  at  a  time  when  most  employers 
were  complaining  bitterly  of  labour's  inefficiency. 

2.  Our  second  conclusion  is  naturally  drawn 
from  the  first.  Since  the  employment  department 
can  render  its  highest  service  to  the  organization 
in  the  selection,  assignment  and  reassignment  of 
executives,  it  follows  that  the  employment  de- 
partment must  occupy  a  high  place  in  the  organiza- 
tion— it  must  be  answerable  to  the  highest  resident 
official  of  the  company  only.  Obviously,  an  em- 
ployment supervisor  cannot  well  recommend  the 


xvi  PREFACE 

reassignment  or  the  release  of  his  own  immediate 
superior.  This  point  is  strongly  and  emphatically 
made  here  because  so  many  employment  depart- 
ments have  been  handicapped  and  hampered  by 
being  made  subordinate  to  a  superintendent  or 
assistant  manager. 

3.  The  third  conclusion  is  corollary  of  the  other 
two.  Since  the  employment  supervisor  is  to  ex- 
ercise so  important  a  function  if  he  is  to  be  of  the 
highest  possible  value  to  the  organization,  he  must 
be  a  man  of  larger  caliber.  No  matter  how  ca- 
pable in  other  ways,  the  man  who  is  of  clerk  size 
has  neither  the  weight  nor  the  influence  to  make 
himself  heard  on  such  a  matter  as  the  selection  of 
a  manager  or  superintendent.  It  is  better  to 
have  a  clerk  keeping  employment  records  in  an  or- 
ganization than  to  have  no  employment  depart- 
ment at  all.  It  is  better  to  have  some  nice,  friendly 
little  fellow,  or  some  capable,  sympathetic  woman, 
assist  foremen  and  superintendents  in  the  selection 
of  employees  for  the  rank  and  file  of  the  organiza- 
tion than  not  to  have  any  such  service.  But,  in 
view  of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  the  wise  and 
scientific  selection  of  executives  for  the  organiza- 
tion, the  management  which  neglects  to  put  a  big 
man  in  this  job  and  to  give  him  a  position  of 
sufficient  authority  and  influence,  is  getting  only 
crumbs  from  the  table  where  the  feast  is  spread. 


PREFACE  xvii 

4.  It  is  almost  needless  to  add,  as  a  final  conclu- 
sion on  this  subject,  that  men  of  the  size  needed 
for  this  job  cannot  be  attracted  to  it  by  clerks' 
salaries.  Many  organizations  have  seen  this  truth 
clearly,  have  paid  sufficiently  for  high-quality 
service,  and  have  profited  handsomely.  Others, 
unfortunately,  have  not  seen  the  possibilities  of 
their  employment  departments  and,  accordingly, 
have  not  reaped  the  rewards  which  were  easily 
possible. 

It  has  sometimes  been  objected  that  executives 
and  others  would  not  willingly  submit  themselves 
to  analysis  by  an  employment  supervisor,  or  by  an 
employers'  adviser.  But,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, experience  proves  that  the  contrary  is  true. 
Men  of  all  ranks  in  organizations  of  every  kind  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  not  only  willingly  submit 
to  an  examination  and  an  analysis,  but  even  seek 
and  plead  for  it.  This  is  easy  to  understand.  The 
man  who  is  fitted  for  his  job  wants  to  have  his 
fitness  confirmed  in  his  own  mind  and  in  the  mind 
of  the  management  in  as  many  ways  as  possible. 
The  man  who  is  not  fitted  for  his  job  is  usually 
unhappy  in  it,  realizes  that  he  is  not  getting  the 
best  out  of  himself  in  it,  and  eagerly  longs  to  find 
out  just  what  kind  of  work  he  will  like  best  and 
can  do  best.  Frequently,  the  man  for  whom  a 
change  in  position  or  occupation  is  recommended 


xviii  PREFACE 

reaps  a  greater  benefit  from  that  change  than  does 
the  man  who  is  continued  in  his  position. 

For  much  of  the  practical  work  in  industry, 
upon  the  results  of  which  this  revision  rests,  the 
authors  are  indebted  to  many  employers,  employ- 
ment supervisors,  assistants  and  clerical  workers 
in  employment  departments  and  to  others. 

THE  AUTHORS. 
New  York  City. 
August  12,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

Introduction xxiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Mind  or  Muscle  —  Which?.      .     .  3 

II.     The  Ideal  in  Employment  ...  10 

III.  A  Scientific  Plan  of  Employment      .  33 

IV.  Discipline 40 

V.     The  Job 62 

VI.     Securing  and  Handling  Applicants  75 

VII.     Analyzing  the  Man  —  Heredity 

and  Environment 107 

VIII.     Analyzing  the  Man  —  Nine  Funda- 
mental Physical  Variables     .      .  118 

IX.     Analyzing  the  Man  —  Practical 

Application 184 

X.    The  Boss 206 

XI.     The   Employment   Supervisor   and 

His  Staff 220 

XII.     Some  Functions  of  an  Employment 

Department 231 

XIII.  The  Art  of  Handling  Men      ...  246 

XIV.  Educating  Employees     ....  255 
XV.(    Vocational  Guidance       ....  264 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Applicants  at  the  door  of  an  Employment  Department 

Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Fig.  1.  American  Indian.  Observe  high  nose  and 
strong  chin 130 

Fig.  2.  A  Turkish  Parade.  Turks,  evolved  in  cold, 
light  northern  Asia,  are  brunettes  with  convex  noses  138 

Fig.  3.  A  Group  of  Negro  Boys.  Note  primitive 
forehead  of  boy  in  middle  of  rear  line.  Also  flat  noses 
and  convex  mouths  and  chins 140 

Fig.  4.  Filipino  Girls.  They  have  the  characteristic 
concave  foreheads  and  noses  and  convex  mouths  and 
chins  of  brunette  races 142 

Fig.  5.  Chinese  on  Man  of  War.  Note  predomi- 
nance of  concave  foreheads  and  noses,  con  vex  mouths 
and  chins 144 

Fig.  6.  A  splendid  example  of  convex  upper,  concave 
lower,  profile .  .  146 

Fig.  7.  Savonarola.  Extreme  convex  form  of  profile. 
Note  especially  convex  mouth 148 

Fig.  8.  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II.  Good  example  of  pure 
convex  form  of  profile.  Note  great  energy  indicated 
by  nose 150 

Fig.  9.  An  American  Engineer.  Pure  convex  form  of 
profile.  Note  especially  prominent  brows  .  .  .  152 

xxi 


XX11; 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING   PAGB 

Fig.  10.  Dr.  T.  Alex.  Cairns,  lecturer.  Pure  concave 
form  of  profile.  Well  known  for  good  nature  and 
humour 154 

Fig.  11.  Charles  Dana  Gibson.  Pure  plane  form  of 
profile 15^ 

Fig.  12.  A  Study  in  Profiles.  Beginning  at  the  upper 
left,  which  is  pure  convex,  the  faces  grade  into  plans 
at  the  lower  left;  then  into  pure  concave  at  lower 
right 158 

Fig.  IS.  Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey.  A  fine  example  of 
mental  type.  Observe  triangular  face  ....  166 

Fig.  14.  Hon.  Wm.  G.  McAdoo.  An  example  of  the 
motive  type 162 

Fig.  15.  Ex-President  William  H.  Taft.  A  splendid 
example  of  the  vital  type,  with  judicial  aptitudes  .  164 

Fig.  16.  Henry  Woodruff.  An  example  of  fine  tex- 
ture  166 

Fig.  17.  Maxim  Gorky.  An  example  of  coarse  tex- 
ture   168 

Fig.  18.    Theodore  Roosevelt  in  early  manhood     .      .     172 

Fig.  19.  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  middle  life.  Observe 
changes  in  expression 173 

Fig.  20.  An  example  of  fine  texture.  Concave  mouth 
and  chin  176 


INTRODUCTION 

WHEN  a  foreman  discharges  the  best  worker 
in  his  gang  because  of  his  own  jealousy  or 
ill-temper,  or  both,  the  loss  to  their  com- 
mon employer  may  run  into  thousands  of  dollars. 
If  in  the  man  so  discharged  there  is  an  embryo 
general  manager  or  advertising  manager  with 
ideas,  the  loss  may  run  into  the  millions.  Even 
when  the  man  thrown  out  is  an  ordinary  workman 
the  loss  is  considerable.  Production  suffers,  and 
perhaps  machines  stand  idle  until  a  successor  is 
found.  Other  workers  in  the  same  gang,  observ- 
ing the  injustice,  decline  in  loyalty  and  efficiency. 
The  best  of  them  may  leave.  The  foreman  must 
spend  some  of  his  time  securing  a  new  man.  It  is 
an  expense  to  substitute  one  man's  name  for  an- 
other's on  the  pay-roll.  In  most  cases  there  is  a 
further  loss  of  the  foreman's  time  in  training  the 
new  man  for  his  work.  Oftentimes  the  new  man 
lacks  experience  or  may  be  incompetent.  There  is 
a  falling  off  in  production,  and  work  may  be  spoiled 
while  he  is  learning.  He  may  turn  out  to  be  utterly 
unfitted  for  the  job,  in  which  case  he  is  discharged, 
and  the  whole  vicious  circle  of  loss  begins  over  again. 


XXHI 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

Every  employer  who  has  considered  this  subject 
at  all  knows  that  he  is  paying  out  larger  or  smaller 
sums  of  money  for  which  he  receives  no  return  be- 
cause of  just  such  occurrences,  and  every  business 
man  of  foresight  and  imagination  sees  wealth  slip- 
ping away  from  him  because  of  the  lack  of  men  he 
needs  to  take  advantage  of  opportunities. 

Our  aggregate  economic  loss  from  these  and  simi- 
lar causes  cannot  of  course  be  calculated.  Some 
little  light  is  thrown  upon  it,  however,  when  we 
find  that  in  one  institution  manufacturing  agricul- 
tural implements,  and  employing,  on  the  average, 
2,400  men,  7,200  are  employed  every  year.  In  a 
well-known  steel  mill  26,000  men  pass  annually 
through  the  institution  in  order  to  maintain  an 
average  working  force  of  8,000.  The  pay-rolls  of 
a  factory  manufacturing  electrical  appliances  show 
an  average  total  of  20,000  employees,  with  ag- 
gregate changes  in  the  personnel  amounting  to  a 
complete  turn-over  every  year.  Perhaps  one  of 
the  extremes  is  a  foundry  in  the  Middle  West,  with 
1,200  employees,  and  14,400  changes  in  the  person- 
nel every  year.  In  other  words,  an  employee's 
average  length  of  service  is  only  thirty  days. 

CONSERVATION  BECOMING  OUR  IDEAL 

This  is  one  of  the  milder  forms  of  waste  in  our 
industries.  Strikes  and  lockouts,  with  their  ac- 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

company  ing  disorder,  destruction  of  life  and  prop- 
erty, and  their  paralyzing  effect  upon  commerce 
and  industry,  have  been,  and  are,  a  menacing  drain 
upon  our  resources.  The  smouldering  forms  of 
antagonism  and  friction  between  employer  and 
employee  cost  sums  impossible  even  to  estimate. 
Go  where  you  will  among  employers  of  labour  and 
you  will  hear  a  common  complaint,  a  complaint 
that  employees  are  inefficient.  How  serious  and 
how  almost  universal  this  inefficiency  is  may  be 
suspected  from  the  astonishing  increase  in  produc- 
tion, and  decrease  in  cost,  effected  by  scientific 
management  and  efficiency  engineering. 

The  growth  from  a  condition  in  which  an  em- 
ployer worked  side  by  side  with  his  men,  when  they 
perhaps  lived  in  his  house  and  ate  at  his  tableland 
he  knew  them  and  loved  them  almost  as  he  did 
his  own  sons,  to  our  present  factory  system,  has 
been  brought  about  by  rapid  strides  after  the  com- 
paratively recent  invention  of  the  steam  engine. 
We  have  been  forced  by  the  necessities  of  the 
situation  to  devote  our  time,  our  energy,  and  our 
best  and  highest  thought  to  developing  machinery, 
equipment,  and  methods  for  the  utilization  of  the 
vast  resources  placed  in  our  hands  by  the  invention 
of  the  steam  engine,  electric  generators  and  motors, 
internal  combustion  engines,  the  turbine  water- 
wheel,  and  by  the  results  of  exploration  and  dis- 


xxvL  INTRODUCTION 

covery.  It  is  only  natural,  under  such  conditions, 
that  our  attention  should  have  been  devoted  to 
exploitation  rather  than  conservation,  and  to  the 
development  of  material  forces  and  products  rather 
than  to  the  more  subtle  and  more  difficult  tasks 
of  conserving  and  developing  our  mental  and  psy- 
chical resources. 

But  the  time  has  come  when  there  must  be  a 
change.  Conservation  has  become  the  industrial 
and  commercial  ideal.  Instead  of  skimming  the 
easily  gathered  wealth  from  the  surface  of  our 
resources,  and  passing  on  to  new  fields,  we  are  be- 
ginning to  study  scientifically  how  to  develop  our 
farms,  our  mines,  our  oil  and  gas  wells,  our  or- 
chards, our  forests,  and  our  fisheries,  so  as  to  make 
them  permanent  and  increasing  sources  of  wealth. 
Instead  of  wringing  the  last  vestige  of  strength 
from  our  gasping  men  and  women,  and  throwing 
them  aside,  we  are  beginning  to  ask  how  their 
mental  and  psychical  forces,  as  well  as  their  mus- 
cular strength  and  manual  skill,  may  be  developed 
and  increased. 

A  PLAN  FOR  CONSERVING  HUMAN  VALUES 

Evidences  of  the  interest  taken  in  this  problem 
of  human  conservation  are  to  be  found  in  the 
formation  of  labour  unions  and  employers'  asso- 
ciations, in  the  rise  of  socialism,  syndicalism,  and 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii, 

other  attempts  to  better  conditions  by  moral  or 
physical  force,  employers  and  employees  working 
in  opposition.  A  newer  manifestation  of  interest 
is  to  be  found  in  the  vocational  movement,  in  the 
efforts  of  our  schools  to  change  their  methods  so 
as  to  train  boys  and  girls  for  the  work  in  which  they 
will  be  most  successful,  in  the  establishment  of 
employment  departments  by  many  manufacturers, 
merchants,  and  others,  in  what  is  called  welfare  or 
social  betterment  work  for  employees,  in  corpora- 
tion and  industrial  schools,  and  in  many  other 
ways. 

Up  to  the  present  moment,  agitation  upon  this 
subject  has  taken  the  form  of  destructive  criticism 
of  old  methods.  This  was,  of  course,  necessary. 
But  perhaps  we  have  reached  the  point  where  de- 
structive criticism  is  no  longer  so  much  needed  as 
the  setting  forth  of  a  definite  and  practicable  plan 
of  employment  to  take  the  place  of  old  methods. 

It  is  because  we  believe  that  this  time  has  come, 
and  because  of  the  insistent  demand  from  many 
quarters  for  it,  that  we  present  in  this  book  a  plan 
of  employment  based  upon  scientific  principles,  a 
plan  which  is,  and  has  been  for  some  time,  in  suc- 
cessful operation. 


The  Job,  The  Man, 
The  Boss 


THE  JOB,  THE  MAN, 
THE  BOSS 

CHAPTER  I 

MIND    OR    MUSCLE  —  WHICH? 

ONE  of  the  most  common  sights  from  our 
steamer  as  we  ascended  the  Nile  was  the 
shadoof  men.  Hour  after  hour,  day  after 
day,  under  the  burning  Nubian  sun,  they  dipped 
water  from  the  Nile  and  poured  it  out  upon  the 
sands  of  the  desert  for  irrigation.  When  the  banks 
were  high,  one  naked  man  stood  in  water  up  to  his 
waist;  a  second  was  stationed  halfway  up  the  bank, 
and  a  third  at  the  top.  Thus,  in  perfect  rhythm, 
chanting  weird  songs,  they  passed  the  life-giving, 
brown  water  from  hand  to  hand. 

In  India  we  saw  porters  plodding  along,  mile 
after  mile,  with  heavy  burdens  on  their  shoulders. 
On  the  Canton  River  in  China  we  saw  coolies  on 
their  treadmills,  toiling  day  after  day  to  furnish 
motive  power  for  their  clumsy  boats.  In  the  city 
of  Canton  we  saw  flour  ground  by  great  millstones 

s 


4  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

turned  by  men  who  ran  upon  treadmills  until 
they  almost  dropped  with  exhaustion. 

And  the  wages  paid  to  all  of  these  men,  some  of 
them  furnishing  human  muscle  power  in  quantities 
of  which  we  in  America  can  scarcely  conceive,  aver- 
age between  10  and  15  cents  a  day. 

Cheap  labour?  Yes,  perhaps  it  is  cheap  labour. 
But  it  is  not  cheap  power.  It  is  the  most  expen- 
sive and  most  wasteful  form  of  motive  power 
known.  Even  at  10  cents  a  day,  and  working  at 
their  highest  possible  muscular  efficiency,  men  can 
not  furnish  motive  power  for  less  than  about  $3  per 
horsepower  per  day.  A  large  steam  or  gasoline 
engine  will  furnish  horsepower  at  the  rate  of  from 
6f  cents  to  66  cents  a  day.  To  purchase  human 
muscle  power  is,  therefore,  not  the  purpose  of  em- 
ployment. 

The  wise  employer  seeks  to  develop  and  secure 
for  his  business  the  highest  and  best  physical  and 
psychical  forces  of  the  men  and  women  he  employs. 
It  is  only  within  the  last  few  years  that  we  have 
begun  to  understand  the  purely  psychological  na- 
ture of  business.  Even  yet  we  only  dimly  under- 
stand the  great  truth  that  materials,  equipment, 
methods,  money,  and  all  the  other  tangible  fac- 
tors in  our  commerce  and  industry  are  but  the 
visible  counters  in  a  game  played  solely  by  the 
invisible  forces  of  mind  and  soul. 


MIND  OR  MUSCLE  —  WHICH  ?  5 

CONSTRUCTIVE     AND     DESTRUCTIVE     MENTAL 
STATES 

Walter  Dill  Scott  says:  "Success  or  failure  in 
business  is  caused  more  by  the  mental  attitude 
even  than  by  mental  capacities."*  Dr.  Wm.  S. 
Sadler,  Post-Graduate  Medical  School  of  Chicago, 
relates  in  his  exhaustive  work,  "The  Physiology 
of  Faith  and  Fear,"  a  multitude  of  incidents  from 
his  own  practice,  all  demonstrating  the  destructive 
effects  upon  the  human  body  of  such  emotions  as 
fear,  worry,  anger,  hate,  grief,  uncertainty,  and 
discouragement.  He  shows  that  almost  every 
known  form  of  disease,  in  some  cases  at  least,  has 
been  the  result  of  destructive  mental  attitude.  He 
also  cites  a  large  number  of  cases  in  which  speedy 
and  perfect  restoration  to  health  and  vigour  has 
followed  the  recovery  of  mental  peace,  courage,  or 
happiness.  Thus,  mental  attitudes  in  the  human 
body  may  be  either  destructive  or  constructive. 
Either  they  tear  down  or  build  up  the  physical  and 
mental  powers.  In  a  similar  way,  destructive  and 
constructive  mental  forces  either  tear  down  or 
build  up  business  institutions. 

It  is  no  secret  to  any  careful  observer  that  every 
place  of  business  or  manufacture  has  its  own  par- 
ticular mental  atmosphere  or  spirit.  One  does 
not  need  to  be  a  psychic  to  sense  the  spirit  of  har- 

*"  Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business/'  page  134. 


6  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

mony,  teamwork,  enthusiasm,  and  happiness  in 
any  successful  business.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  feel 
the  atmosphere  of  gloom,  suspicion,  irritation,  petty 
jealousy,  discord,  or  careless  indifference  in  one 
which  is  on  the  road  to  failure. 

We  have  studied  many  business  concerns.  In 
every  one  of  them  we  have  found  the  mental  and 
moral  character  of  the  man  or  men  who  dominated 
it  reflected  and  exaggerated  in  the  rank  and  file. 
In  one  organization  a  man  high  in  authority  was 
an  inveterate  meddler  and  gossip.  Not  even  the 
lowliest  worker  in  the  organization  was  safe  from 
his  curious,  prying  eyes  and  his  inquisitive  nose, 
and  no  one,  either  in  the  institution  or  outside, 
could  escape  the  sting  and  defilement  of  his  slander- 
ous tongue.  It  was  inevitable  that  this  destructive 
spirit  should  permeate  the  entire  organization,  until 
almost  every  one  in  it  was  both  backbiting  and 
backbitten.  No  one  could  come  into  contact  with 
this  spirit  without  feeling  demoralized,  less  self- 
respecting,  less  efficient,  and  less  happy. 

By  a  curious  coincidence,  at  the  same  time  we 
were  studying  this  institution,  we  also  made  an 
investigation  of  the  most  successful  corporation  in. 
its  line  of  business  in  the  United  States.  Here 
we  found  the  vice-president,  who  was  also  its  chief 
executive,  and  the  twelve  department  heads  as- 
sociated with  him,  happy  and  harmonious.  Every 


MIND  OR  MUSCLE  —  WHICH  ?  7 

man  enthusiastically  told  us  that  he  belonged  to 
the  finest  and  best  organization  on  earth,  and  was 
eager  to  praise  the  character  and  ability  of  every 
one  of  his  associates.  Not  once  in  our  interviews 
with  any  of  them  did  we  hear  the  time-worn  and 
all-too-universal  stab-in-the-back,  :<Yes,  he's  a 

mighty  good  fellow,  but "      All  through  the 

offices  and  works,  and  in  our  contact  with  employees 
of  all  grades,  we  found  the  same  happy,  harmonious 
spirit  of  teamwork.  We  were  quite  prepared  for 
the  information  that  this  spirit,  this  constructive 
mental  atmosphere,  extended  to  the  patrons  of 
the  institution  and  the  public  generally,  and  that, 
as  a  result,  its  profits  and  dividends  were  higher 
than  those  of  any  other  corporation  of  its  size  in 
the  country. 

HAPPINESS  AND  LABOUR   COST 

William  C.  Redfield,  in  his  book,  "The  New  In- 
dustrial Day,"  pp.  120-1-2,  says:  "Given  the 
scientific  spirit  in  management,  constant  and  care- 
ful study  of  operations  and  details  of  cost,  modern 
buildings  and  equipment,  proper  arrangement  of 
plant,  and  proper  material,  ample  power,  space, 
and  light,  a  high  wage  rate  means  inevitably  a 
low  labour  cost  per  unit  of  product  and  the  mini' 
mum  of  labour  cost.  ...  A  steadily  decreas- 
ing labour  cost  per  unit  of  product  is  not  incon- 


8  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

sistent  with,  but  on  the  contrary  is  normal  to,  a 
coincident  advance  in  the  rate  of  pay  for  the  work 
when  accompanied  by  careful  study  of  methods 
and  equipment,  as  previously  suggested.  Con- 
versely, low-priced  labour  nearly  always  is  costly 
per  unit  produced,  and  usually  is  inconsistent  with 
good  tools,  equipment,  and  large  and  fine  product, 
else  such  labour  would  not  be  low-priced." 

In  a  large  factory  manufacturing  a  food  product 
of  international  reputation,  $25,000  a  year  was 
added  to  the  wages  paid  employees,  and  $17,000  a 
year  additional  was  expended  in  betterments  of 
their  conditions,  such  as  lunch-rooms,  gymnasiums, 
night  schools,  and  sanitation.  This  addition  of 
$42,000  a  year  to  the  expenses  of  the  company  re- 
sulted, not  in  a  decreased  dividend,  but  in  an  in- 
creased dividend.  As  a  further  confirmation  of 
this  principle  we  have  but  to  call  attention  of  the 
reader  to  his  own  experiences,  to  the  fact  that  he 
does  more  work  and  better  work  when  happy  and 
contented,  when  interested  and  enthusiastic,  than 
when  he  is  unhappy  or  indifferent. 

We  might  multiply  examples  of  the  effect  of  de- 
structive and  constructive  attitudes  in  executives 
and  employees,  but  the  truth  is  so  well  known  that 
we  should  merely  be  demonstrating  the  obvious. 

Since  it  is  mental  and  psychical  forces  rather 
than  muscle  power  that  we  are  purchasing  when 


MIND  OR  MUSCLE  —  WHICH  ?  9 

we  employ  men  and  women,  we  should  therefore 
seek  mental  and  psychical  power  that  is  construc- 
tive and  not  destructive.  Expressing  the  idea  con- 
cretely, we  want  men  and  women  who  love  their 
work,  who  find  joy  in  doing  it,  and  who,  because  of 
their  happiness  and  psychical  inspiration,  give  us 
the  very  finest  products  of  their  heads  and  hearts, 
and,  therefore,  of  their  hands. 

The  plan  which  we  are  to  present  in  this  book  is 
designed  to  obtain  and  to  conserve  for  the  em- 
ployer, the  employee,  and  humanity  in  general 
the  highest  and  best  constructive  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  those  employed  according  to  its  prin- 
ciples. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    IDEAL    IN    EMPLOYMENT 

WHEN  Thomas  A.  Edison  is  bent  on  realiz- 
ing one  of  his  ideas,  his  absorption  in 
his  work  exemplifies  Emerson's  dictum: 
"Nothing  great  was  ever  accomplished   without 
enthusiasm.     The  way  of  life  is  wonderful  —  it  is 
by  abandonment."     He  shuts  himself  away  from 
all  interruption  in  his  laboratory.     He  works  for 
hours,  oblivious  of  everything  but  his  idea.     Even 
the  demands  of  his  body  for  food  and  sleep  do  not 
rise  above  the  threshold  of  consciousness. 

Edison  himself  says  that  great  achievement  is  a 
result,  not  of  a  great  genius,  but  of  just  this  kind  of 
concentration  in  work.  And,  until  the  mediocre 
man  has  worked  as  has  Edison,  he  cannot  prove 
the  contrary.  Mr.  Edison  has  results  to  prove 
the  value  of  his  way  of  working.  Even  our  most 
expert  statistician  and  mathematician  would  find  it 
difficult  to  calculate  the  amount  of  material  wealth 
this  one  worker  has  added  to  humanity's  store. 
Of  the  unseen  but  higher  values  in  culture,  in 
knowledge,  in  the  spreading  of  civilization,  and 

10 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  11 

in  greater  joy  of  living  for  millions  of  people,  there 
are  even  greater  results.  Other  men  of  the  past 
and  present,  in  every  phase  of  activity,  have  dem- 
onstrated that  Edison's  utter  abandonment  to  his 
task  is  the  keynote  of  efficiency  and  achievement. 

And  right  here,  too,  is  the  ideal  in  employment: 
To  secure,  cultivate,  and  maintain  this  spirit  of 
absorption  in  the  work  of  every  man  in  the  organi- 
zation —  and  thus  to  develop,  conserve,  and  utilize 
the  mental  and  psychical  forces  of  our  latent  and 
potential  Edisons. 

Each  employee,  even  the  lowliest  and  least 
skilled,  can  be  as  efficient  and  as  happy  in  his  task 
as  is  Edison  in  his,  but  only  under  similar  condi- 
tions. Mr.  Edison  is  doing  work  for  which  he  is 
preeminently  fitted.  He  shows  his  fitness  by  doing 
it  supremely  well.  He  has  created  an  environment 
under  which  he  works  at  his  best.  He  sees  the 
results  of  his  efforts.  He  receives  rewards  com- 
mensurate with  his  efficiency. 


THE  EMPLOYER'S  IDEAL 


These,  then,  are  the  ideal  conditions  of  employ- 
ment: 

That  each  worker  should  do  work  for  which  he 
is  preeminently  fitted; 

That  each  should  work  in  an  environment  in 
which  he  can  do  his  best; 


12         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

That  each  should  be  able  to  see  and  enjoy  the 
results  of  his  work; 

That  each  worker  should  receive  a  reward  com- 
mensurate with  his  efficiency. 

Industry,  like  health,  is  normal.  All  healthy 
children,  and  even  men,  are  active.  Activity 
means  growth  and  development.  Inactivity  means 
decay  and  death.  The  man  who  has  no  useful 
work  to  do  will  sometimes  express  himself  in  wrong- 
doing and  crime,  for  he  must  do  something  indus- 
triously to  live.  Even  our  so-called  idle  rich  and 
leisure  classes  are  strenuously  active  in  their  at- 
tempts to  amuse  themselves. 

When,  therefore,  a  man  hates  his  work,  when  he 
is  dissatisfied  and  discontented  in  it,  when  his 
work  arouses  in  him  destructive  thoughts  and 
feelings  rather  than  constructive,  there  is  some- 
thing wrong,  something  abnormal.  He  is  trying 
to  do  work  for  which  he  is  not  fitted,  or  he  is  in  the 
wrong  environment,  or  under  wrong  management, 
or  he  is  physically  or  mentally  ill. 

The  remedy  for  all  of  this,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
to  give  the  man  something  to  do  which  he  can  do 
well,  and  to  fit  his  environment  to  his  needs.  In 
practice,  of  course,  this  means  the  selection  for  each 
job  in  our  organization  of  the  one  man  out  of  all 
others  who,  by  natural  aptitudes,  training,  and  ex- 
perience, is  best  fitted  to  fill  all  the  requirements 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT         IS 

of  that  job,  and  suited  to  its  environment  and  con- 
ditions. 

In  fitting  a  man  to  his  environment  perhaps  the 
personal  element  in  that  environment  is  the  most 
important.  One  of  the  first  things  we  all  want  to 
know  about  any  human  relationship,  whether  it 
finds  its  expression  in  work,  play,  society,  or  poli- 
tics, is  the  human  atoms  with  whom  we  are  to  be 
commingled  and  compounded  in  that  relationship. 
We  may  readily  admit  the  universal  brotherhood 
of  man,  but  we  also  have  to  admit  that  there 
are  some  of  our  brothers  and  sisters  with  whom 
we  do  not  make  a  very  pleasant  chemical  combi- 
nation. 

Hydrogen  and  oxygen  by  themselves  form  water, 
one  of  the  most  beneficial  and  useful  of  all  fluids, 
but  combine  sulphur  with  hydrogen  and  oxygen, 
in  certain  atomic  proportions,  and  you  have  highly 
destructive  sulphuric  acid.  In  a  similar  way,  we 
are  happy  and  efficient  when  associated  with  some 
people,  but  unhappy  and  positively  destructive 
when  compelled  to  associate  with  others. 

In  the  ideal  organization  all  the  human  chemical 
combinations  are  made  by  the  wise  master  chemist 
in  such  a  way  that  every  employee  is  associated 
with  immediate  and  more  remote  superiors,  who 
inspire  him  to  give  only  constructive  thoughts  and 
feelings,  and  each  executive  supervises  and  directs 


14         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

the  work  of  the  kind  of  men  and  women  from  whom 
he  can  secure  the  best  results. 

We  have  spoken  about  selecting  for  every  posi- 
tion the  man  who  is  best  fitted  for  it,  not  only  for 
the  duties  of  that  position,  but  for  the  environment 
and  conditions  attached  to  it.  A  most  important 
corollary  of  this  proposition  is  naturally  this:  In 
the  ideal  organization  the  environment  and  condi- 
tions attached  to  every  position  should  be  such 
that  the  man  who  will  fit  them  is  the  best  possible 
man  for  that  work. 

RATE  OF  PAY  AND  EFFICIENCY 

For  example,  if  it  is  desirable  that  a  man  should 
express  in  his  work  neatness,  order,  accuracy,  clean- 
liness, and  beauty,  then  a  workshop  or  office  which 
is  neat,  clean,  orderly,  and  beautiful  will  suit  the 
man  best  fitted  for  that  work.  The  blacksmith 
shops  of  the  Pittsburgh  &  Lake  Erie  Railway  are 
called  "Vhrfea  blacksmith  shops."  They  are  well 
lighted,  well  arranged,  and  constantly  kept  clean. 
Even  the  walls  and  ceilings  are  whitewashed  and 
never  allowed  to  become  smoke-stained  and  soot- 
smeared.  As  a  result  there  have  been  gathered  in 
these  shops  men  who  take  pride  in  their  surround- 
ings, and  who  are  glad  to  do  their  best  to  keep  them 
neat  and  clean.  It  follows,  of  course,  that  these  men 
take  pride  in  their  work  and  do  their  best  with  it. 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  15 

It  is  an  old  saying  that  the  workman  is  known  by 
his  tools.  Frank  A.  Gilbreth,  in  his  excellent  book, 
"Motion  Study,"  page  59,  says:  "The  influence 
of  the  tools  used  upon  the  output  is  large.  No 
workman  can  possibly  comply  with  standard  mo- 
tions unless  he  has  the  standard  tools."  In  the 
ideal  organization  all  tools  and  equipment  are  most 
carefully  selected  and  kept  in  condition  to  fit  the 
needs  and  requirements  of  the  most  desirable 
workers. 

There  is  no  factor  in  the  conditions  of  employ- 
ment more  important  than  that  of  the  rate  of  pay, 
and  there  is  none  over  which  there  has  been  more 
controversy.  The  time  is  already  here,  however, 
when  the  enlightened  employer  no  longer  quarrels 
with  his  workmen  about  their  rate  of  pay.  In 
conference  with  one  of  the  most  successful  manu- 
facturers in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  we  learned 
that,  as  the  result  of  his  scientific  study  of  costs  and 
their  causes,  he  had  increased  the  pay  of  his  men 
from  $2.50  and  $3.50  a  day  to  $6  a  day  and  upward, 
the  pay  of  some  of  the  men  reaching  as  high  as 
$18  a  day.  These  men  perform  the  same  opera- 
tions on  their  new  wages  that  they  performed  on 
their  old,  and  yet  this  employer  told  us  that  his 
costs  per  unit  of  production  had  been  greatly  re- 
duced since  he  began  to  pay  his  men  better  wages. 

"As  manufacturing  establishments  are  improved 


16         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

and  humanized,"  says  James  H.  Collins  in  the 
Saturday  Evening  Post,  "it  is  becoming  clearer  and 
clearer  that  in  buying  labour  quality  counts  first, 
just  as  it  does  in  materials,  and  that  price  is  really 
secondary.  While  governments  collect  statistics 
showing  wages  paid  in  different  countries,  and  that 
the  cheapest  product  is  usually  found  where  the 
most  skilful  employees  earn  the  highest  wages,  the 
American  manufacturer  is  arriving  at  the  same 
truth  through  his  own  experience  in  the  manage- 
ment of  works  and  through  his  export  connec- 
tions. .  .  .  The  vital  point  about  an  employee 
is  not  how  much  he  gets  a  day,  nor  how  many  hours 
he  works,  but  how  much  he  can  do  with  a  given 
machine.  .  .  .  Each  improvement  in  the  qual- 
ity of  the  output  cuts  labour  costs.  .  .  .  The 
actual  money  saving  on  the  cost-sheets  is  only  a 
part  of  the  benefit;  for  a  high-grade  workman  on  a 
high-grade  job  facilitates  deliveries,  helps  sales, 
and  forwards  the  whole  organization.  A  few  dol- 
lars additional  in  his  pay  envelope  may  count  so 
little  that  it  would  be  worth  the  money  to  be  certain 
he  will  turn  up  beside  his  machine  every  morning 
when  the  whistle  blows." 

The  ideal,  so  far  as  wages  and  salaries  are  con- 
cerned, is  not  to  fix  a  rate  of  pay  for  any  particular 
job  and  then  to  find  some  man  or  woman  (efficiency 
not  specified)  willing  to  accept  that  rate  of  pay, 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  17 

but  rather  to  fix  upon  the  standard  requirements 
in  aptitudes,  training,  experience,  and  consequent 
efficiency  for  that  job,  find  some  one  who  meets  the 
requirements,  and  then  pay  him  enough  to  secure 
his  very  best  constructive  thought. 

HOURS    OF    LABOUR  —  PERIODS    OF    REST 

Next  to  rate  of  pay  probably  the  most  difficult 
point  of  adjustment  between  employers  and  em- 
ployees is  that  of  hours  of  labour.  It  has  been  only 
natural,  in  the  absence  of  exact  knowledge  on  the 
subject,  that  the  employer  should  conclude  that 
the  more  hours  his  employees  worked  the  more 
they  would  accomplish.  It  is  also  perfectly  natural 
that  the  employees  should  respond  to  this  attitude 
on  the  part  of  the  employer  by  feeling  that  the 
fewer  hours  they  worked  for  the  same  rate  of  pay 
the  better  off  they  were. 

Little  by  little,  hours  of  labour  have  been  re- 
duced from  fourteen  to  twelve,  from  twelve  to  ten, 
and  from  ten  to  nine  and  eight.  The  results  have 
been  nothing  short  of  astonishing  to  both  parties 
in  the  controversy.  Who  could  have  predicted 
that  a  man  would  do  more  and  better  work  in  eight 
hours  than  he  had  done  in  fourteen?  And  yet  that 
is  exactly  what  has  happened  in  hundreds  of  differ- 
ent industries  and  different  factories  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic. 


18         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Will  hours  of  labour  be  still  further  reduced? 
The  question  can  be  answered  correctly  only  by 
the  application  of  the  new  scientific  spirit,  the 
spirit  which  does  not  assume,  as  we  formerly  did, 
that  a  reduction  in  hours  of  labour  means  a  reduc- 
tion in  output,  but  by  careful  experiment  and  the 
use  of  accurate  records,  carefully  analyzed,  ascer- 
tains the  truth.  The  ideal  in  employment  will  be 
attained  when  every  man  works  just  that  number 
of  hours  each  day  that  will  enable  him  to  accomplish 
the  maximum  amount  of  the  highest  quality  of 
work. 

Scientific  investigation  has  clearly  shown  that 
men  and  women  do  more  and  better  work  if  given 
carefully  ascertained  periods  of  rest  and  relaxation 
during  working  hours.  When  a  man  works  either 
his  muscles  or  his  brain,  fatigue  poisons  are  pro- 
duced in  his  system  more  rapidly  than  they  are 
eliminated.  These  fatigue  poisons,  as  science  has 
demonstrated,  clog  a  man's  mental  and  physical 
machinery,  slowing  up  every  process,  dulling  the 
senses,  and  robbing  every  effort  of  some  of  its 
reliability  and  accuracy.  A  certain  period  of  ab- 
solute rest  and  relaxation  relieves  mental  and  phys- 
ical tension  and  permits  the  processes  of  elimination 
to  catch  up  and  overtake  the  production  of  fatigue 
poisons.  In  ordinary  physical  work,  into  which  the 
mind  scarcely  enters,  men  have  been  known  to  ac- 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  19 

complish  400  per  cent,  more  in  a  given  number  of 
hours  with  carefully  worked-out  intervals  of  rest 
and  relaxation  than  when  working  continuously. 
In  mental  work  the  effect  has  often  been  found  to 
be  even  greater.  In  the  ideal  organization,  experts 
carefully  standardize  the  proper  intervals  and 
periods  of  work  and  relaxation  for  every  job,  and 
the  executives  see  that  these  intervals  and  periods 
are  made  effective. 

RELATIONS   WITH    SUPERIOR 

Some  years  ago  we  had  occasion  to  study  the 
efficiency  of  a  number  of  accountants  in  a  bank. 
Among  them  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-two, 
well  educated,  with  splendid  natural  talents  as  an 
accountant,  intelligent,  honest,  industrious,  am- 
bitious to  succeed.  There  seemed  to  be  every 
reason  why  he  should  be  efficient.  The  bank  was 
well  lighted,  well  ventilated,  and  in  many  other 
ways  a  delightful  place  to  work.  His  rate  of  pay 
was  fully  satisfactory  to  him,  and  his  companions 
were  congenial.  And  yet  he  accomplished  little, 
and  that  little  was  so  poor  that  he  was  hardly 
*  'worth  his  salt . ' '  Furthermore,  instead  of  improv- 
ing, he  was  rapidly  growing  worse.  A  little  in- 
vestigation soon  brought  out  the  fact  that  the 
chief  accountant,  while  most  efficient  himself,  and 
while  securing  a  high  quantity  and  quality  of  work 


20         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

from  most  of  the  other  employees,  kept  this  par- 
ticular young  man  in  a  constant  state  of  terror 
and  nervousness.  The  young  man  was  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly sensitive  and  responsive  disposition,  and 
would  have  accomplished  wonders  if  his  loyalty, 
love  of  achievement,  and  ambition  had  been  ap- 
pealed to.  Instead,  his  chief  had  attempted  to 
stimulate  him  by  rather  sharp  rebuke  and  stinging 
criticism.  It  took  a  great  deal  of  careful  and  pains- 
taking instruction  to  the  chief  accountant  about 
the  disposition  of  his  employee  and  the  right  way 
of  handling  him,  but  such  efforts  finally  brought 
results.  This  bookkeeper,  who  had  been  almost 
worthless,  became  a  valued  employee  in  a  few  months 
under  right  methods  of  treatment. 

It  is  well  known  to  any  one  who  will  observe  and 
think  even  a  little  that  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  is  a  separate  and  distinct  individual  in  all 
respects,  and  responds  best  to  the  kind  of  treatment 
best  suited  to  his  individuality.  In  the  ideal  or- 
ganization, therefore,  every  employee  is  handled 
and  managed,  not  according  to  the  whims,  preju- 
dices, and  pet  theories  of  his  superiors,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  needs  of  his  own  peculiar  type. 

HOPE  OF  PROMOTION 

Among  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  uni- 
verse is  the  law  of  growth.  Of  the  laws  apply- 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  21 

ing  peculiarly  to  sensate  beings,  this  law  of  growth, 
the  law  of  self-preservation,  and  the  law  of  race- 
perpetuation  constitute  a  fundamental  trinity.  No 
matter  how  low  a  man  has  fallen,  no  matter  how 
hard  the  conditions  under  which  he  lives,  no 
matter  how  great  his  privations  or  severe  his  trials, 
let  him  but  feel  that  the  law  of  growth  is  having  its 
way  witK  him,  that  he  is  progressing,  that  he  has 
the  right  to  hope,  and  he  will  have  courage  and 
strength  for  it  all.  But  take  away  that  hope,  and 
no  matter  how  pleasant  and  agreeable  his  sur- 
roundings and  conditions,  no  matter  how  great  his 
achievements,  how  high  his  attainments,  or  how 
many  and  valuable  the  things  he  possesses,  he  will 
look  at  life  with  the  tragic  eyes  of  despair.  When 
there  is  no  opportunity  for  advancement,  for  pro- 
motion, a  man  may  work  under  the  spur  of  neces- 
sity, but  his  work  has  in  it  nothing  of  that  joyous 
abandon  which  arises  from  constructive  thought 
and  feeling,  and  results  in  efficiency. 

In  the  ideal  organization  every  man  performs 
his  part  with  the  hope  of  a  better  to-morrow  ever 
beckoning  him  on.  The  law  of  growth  applies 
also  to  the  feeling  of  the  wise  employer  toward  his 
employee. 

When  we  studied  the  most  successful  organization 
of  its  kind  in  the  United  States,  already  mentioned 
in  these  pages,  we  found  that  every  member  of  the 


22         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

executive  staff  had  been  a  member  of  the  organiza- 
tion for  from  fifteen  to  thirty -five  years,  and  that 
every  one  of  them  had  begun  work  in  the  organi- 
zation as  a  boy.  Each  of  them  had  developed 
along  the  lines  of  his  talents  and  tastes  until  he 
had  become  the  head  of  a  great  department. 

Now,  the  development  of  an  office  boy  into  a 
general  manager,  of  a  stenographer  into  a  purchas- 
ing agent,  or  of  a  clerk  into  an  advertising  man- 
ager, is  not  a  matter  of  chance,  but  rather  of 
education.  Every  factory,  every  store,  every  office 
is  in  the  best  and  truest  sense  of  the  word  a  school. 
One  of  the  finest  things  about  work  done  by  the 
right  kind  of  man  under  the  right  conditions  is  the 
fact  that  work  is  an  education.  There  is  more 
true  and  valuable  learning,  more  real  and  perma- 
nent development,  in  work  under  proper  conditions 
than  in  any  other  kind  of  schooling. 

In  the  industrial  era  just  passed  and  now  drawing 
to  a  close,  it  was  to  have  been  expected  that  em- 
ployers, with  their  chief  attention  absorbed  by 
questions  relating  to  machines  and  methods,  should 
neglect  the  greatest  of  all  their  assets  —  namely, 
the  latent  but  easily  developed  mental  and  psychi- 
cal forces  of  their  employees.  The  men  who,  like 
Carnegie,  have  made  their  organizations  schools  in 
which  masters  and  millionaires  were  trained,  have 
stood  out  from  all  the  rest  by  reason  of  their  success. 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT          23 

In  order  that  work  may  educate  a  man  he  must 
know  what  he  is  doing  and  why  he  is  doing  it; 
he  must  be  taught  not  only  how  to  do  things  in 
the  best,  easiest,  and  quickest  ways,  but  must  be 
taught  why  he  does  them  at  all,  and  why  he  does 
them  in  the  way  pointed  out.  We  have  encountered 
thousands  of  workmen  standing  at  their  machines 
day  after  day,  working  on  parts  of  commodities 
whose  place  and  function  in  the  whole  they  had 
never  been  taught.  Since  the  blunder  of  some  ob- 
scure employee  may  possibly  lose  a  sale  or  estrange  a 
valuable  customer,  why  not  teach  that  employee  just 
what  part  he  takes  in  producing  the  goods  and  ser- 
vices of  the  concern  and  just  how  his  part  of  the  work 
may  affect  the  patron  who  pays  his  money  for  it? 

THE     SPIRIT     OF     THE     HIVE 

Men  are  naturally  gregarious  —  they  like  to  "be- 
long." Many  a  man  is  far  more  eager  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  team,  of  his  club,  of  his  party,  than  he  is 
for  his  own  individual  success.  It  is  natural  for 
men  to  devote  themselves  and  all  they  possess  — 
even  their  life's  blood  —  to  a  leader,  to  a  cause,  or 
to  their  country.  Men  who  are  often  apathetic 
and  indifferent  to  their  own  interests  will  rise  to 
heroic  heights  under  such  incentives.  It  is  easy 
for  the  wise  employer  to  appeal  to  this  quality 
through  right  methods  of  education. 


24         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Many  stories  are  told  vividly  exemplifying  this 
devotion  of  men  to  a  leader.  Perhaps  none  is 
more  striking  than  this  one  from  the  History  of 
Napoleon  by  Lockhart.  A  company  of  grena- 
diers, former  soldiers  of  Napoleon,  had  been  sent 
out  to  intercept  his  march  when  he  was  on  his  re- 
turn from  Elba.  "Either  party  halted  until  Na- 
poleon himself  came  up,"  says  Lockhart.  "He 
did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment.  He  dismounted, 
and  advanced  alone ;  some  paces  behind  him  came 
a  hundred  of  his  guard  with  their  arms  reversed. 
There  was  perfect  silence  on  all  sides  until  he  was 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  men.  He  then  halted, 
threw  open  his  surtout  so  as  to  show  the  star  of  the 
Legion  of  Honour,  and  exclaimed,  'If  there  be 
among  you  a  soldier  who  desires  to  kill  his  general 
—  his  Emperor  —  let  him  do  it  now.  Here  I  am/ 
The  old  cry  of  Vive  1'Empereur  burst  instantane- 
ously from  every  lip.  Napoleon  threw  himself 
among  them,  and  taking  a  veteran  private,  cov- 
ered with  chevrons  and  medals,  by  the  whisker, 
said,  'Speak  honestly,  old  Moustache,  couldst  thou 
have  had  the  heart  to  kill  thy  Emperor?'  The 
man  dropped  his  ramrod  into  his  piece  to  show 
that  it  was  uncharged,  and  answered,  'Judge  if  I 
could  have  done  thee  much  harm  —  all  the  rest 
are  the  same.' ' 

We  have  never  worked  with  a  more  intensely 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  25 

loyal  and  self -forgetful  band  of  men  and  women 
than  the  employees  of  a  certain  manufacturing 
concern  with  a  rather  remarkable  history  and 
strongly  individual  policies,  traditions,  and  ideals. 
This  spirit  of  loyalty  was  created  and  developed 
largely  by  educating  the  employees  so  that  every 
one  of  them  could,  and  did,  talk  eloquently  and  en- 
thusiastically about  the  past  triumphs  of  "our 
house,"  about  its  clear-headed,  common-sense 
policies,  about  its  traditions  of  high  quality  and 
excellent  service,  and  about  its  splendid  moral 
ideals. 


THE  EMPLOYEE'S  IDEAL 


In  the  ideal  organization  every  employee  is 
looked  upon  as  a  bundle  of  limitless  latent  pos- 
sibilities, and  his  training  and  education  are  held 
to  be  of  far  more  importance  than  the  invention 
of  new  machinery,  the  discovery  of  new  methods, 
or  the  opening  of  new  markets.  And  this  is  rea- 
sonable. Some  obscure  employee,  thus  trained 
and  educated,  may  invent  more  wonder-working 
machinery,  discover  more  efficient  methods,  and 
open  up  wider  and  more  profitable  markets  than 
any  before  dreamed.  Even  if  no  such  brilliant 
star  rises  as  the  result  of  education,  the  increased 
efficiency,  loyalty,  and  enthusiasm  of  the  whole 
mass  of  employees  lifted,  be  it  ever  so  little,  by 


26         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

education  within  the  organization,  has  yielded 
results  in  scores  of  institutions  that  have  come 
under  our  observation  within  the  last  few  years 
far  beyond  any  won  by  mechanical  or  commercial 
exploitation. 

The  ideal  for  every  employee,  therefore,  is  that  he 
should  be  employed  in  that  position  which  he  is  best 
fitted  to  fill,  doing  work  which  by  natural  aptitudes, 
training,  and  experience  he  is  best  qualified  to  do, 
and  working  under  conditions  of  material  environ- 
ment —  tools,  rates  of  pay,  hours  of  labour,  and 
periods  of  rest,  superintendence  and  management, 
future  prospects,  and  education  —  that  will  develop 
and  make  useful  to  himself  and  his  employer  his  best 
and  finest  latent  abilities  and  capacities. 

We  have  seen  that  the  ideal  for  the  organization 
is  that  each  man  in  it  shall  be  so  selected,  assigned, 
managed,  and  educated  that  he  will  express  for 
the  organization  his  highest  and  best  constructive 
thoughts  and  feelings. 

THE    MUTUAL    IDEAL  —  COOPERATION 

There  is  one  more  step.  That  is  the  mutual 
ideal.  It  is  contained  in  the  other  two  —  and  the 
other  two  are  essentially  one. 

The  mutual  ideal  is  the  ideal  of  cooperation. 
There  is  no  antagonism  between  these  ideals. 
The  old  fallacy  that  the  boss  must  get  just  as 


THE  IDEAL  IN  EMPLOYMENT  27 

much  as  possible  out  of  the  workman  and  pay  just 
as  little  as  possible,  and  that  the  workman  must 
do  just  as  little  as  he  can  and  wring  from  the  boss 
just  as  much  pay  as  he  can  for  what  he  does,  and 
that,  therefore,  their  interests  are  diametrically 
opposed,  has  been  all  but  exploded.  It  was  based 
upon  ignorance,  upon  prejudice,  and  upon  privately 
interested  misrepresentation.  The  new  scientific 
spirit,  working  side  by  side  with  the  new  spirit  of 
a  broader  and  deeper  humanity,  has  demonstrated, 
and  is  demonstrating,  the  truth,  that  in  no  other 
union  is  there  such  great  strength  as  in  the  union 
of  those  who  are  working  together,  creating  wealth 
for  themselves  and  serving  humanity.  This  is  the 
mutual,  cooperative  ideal  in  employment.  And 
it  is  for  the  practical  realization  of  this  ideal  that 
we  have  devised  the  plan  whose  principles  and 
practical  workings  are  described  in  this  book; 


CHAPTER  III 

A   SCIENTIFIC   PLAN  OF  EMPLOYMENT 

IN  A  large  printing  plant  we  investigated  we 
found  the  foreman  of  the  press-room  purchas- 
ing ink  and  paper  and  caring  for  the  stores  of 
these  commodities.  The  foreman  of  the  composing- 
room,  in  like  manner,  attended  to  the  purchase 
of  type,  electrotypes,  engravings,  and  other  sup- 
plies for  his  department.  He  also  had  full  charge 
of  his  stores.  As  might  be  expected,  he  made  more 
than  his  salary  in  commissions.  The  foreman  of 
the  bindery  purchased  glue,  cloth,  leather,  wire, 
thread,  strawboard,  and  other  such  supplies,  and 
also  kept  an  eye  on  what  he  had  on  hand  and  issued 
it  upon  oral  requests  to  the  members  of  the  bind- 
ing-room force.  We  were  not  astonished  to  find 
the  shipping  clerk  buying  nails,  marking  ink,  wrap- 
ping paper,  twine,  and  sheet-iron  straps;  but  we 
were  amazed  to  find  that  the  general  manager 
himself  purchased  coal  for  the  boilers  and  lubri- 
cating oil  for  the  machinery.  We  had  expected 
to  find  these  duties  delegated  to  the  janitor.  We 
found  that  a  little  print  shop  not  far  away,  owned 

0 


A  SCIENTIFIC  PLAN  29 

by  a  brother-in-law  of  the  foreman  of  the  press- 
room, had  been  running  along  for  nearly  two  years 
with  no  expense  for  ink,  and  scarcely  any  for  paper. 
Modern  factory  owners  will  be  quite  prepared  for 
the  statement  that  even  the  coal  purchased  by  the 
general  manager  himself  was  purchased  by  the 
ton  and  that  the  general  manager  hadn't  the  ghost 
of  an  idea  that  there  existed  in  the  universe  any 
such  standards  as  British  thermal  units. 

That  was  the  old  way  and  the  crude  way  of  pur- 
chasing. We  found  the  next  step  above  that  in 
an  electrical  supply  house.  There  all  purchasing 
was  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  purchasing 
agent  and  his  staff.  This  purchasing  agent  was 
honest  and  capable.  He  had  sharpened  his  wits 
and  studied  markets  until  his  employers  boasted 
of  him  that  he  could  buy  materials  and  equipment 
cheaper  than  any  other  man  in  the  business.  An 
investigation  of  this  company's  records,  however, 
very  quickly  showed  that,  although  they  purchased 
more  cheaply  per  ton,  per  gross,  or  per  linear  foot, 
according  to  the  commodities,  than  any  of  their 
competitors,  yet  the  item  of  cost  charged  up  to 
material  and  equipment  in  their  products  was 
higher  than  that  of  any  of  their  competitors.  This 
seemed  strange,  but  further  investigation  showed 
that  a  great  deal  of  what  was  purchased  so  cheaply 
had  to  be  thrown  on  the  scrap-heap;  that  a  ton  of 


30         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

coal  or  of  copper  purchased  in  this  way  somehow  or 
other  did  not  yield  as  much  heat  or  as  many  feet 
of  salable  wire  as  it  should.  Besides  these  losses, 
we  discovered  that  there  was  considerable  dis- 
satisfaction among  customers  because  of  the  poor 
quality  of  the  product  they  bought.  Too  many 
consignments  of  goods  were  returned  because  un- 
expected flaws  developed. 

SCIENTIFIC   METHODS   IN    BUSINESS 

In  the  truly  up-to-date  purchasing  department 
there  is  a  due  regard  for  prices.  But  the  supreme 
consideration  is  quality.  And  when  it  comes  to 
determining  qualities,  to  finding  just  the  best  ma- 
terial or  equipment  for  the  purpose  in  view,  there 
is  no  guesswork,  there  is  no  taking  the  word  of 
some  one  else,  there  is  no  favouritism.  The  modern 
purchasing  agent  proceeds  upon  exact  knowledge. 
In  his  laboratory  he  analyzes  and  tests  materials  and 
equipment  with  scientific  accuracy.  He  also  de- 
termines by  the  same  methods  what  are  the  standard 
requirements  of  materials  and  equipment  needed. 

In  the  early  days  of  our  industries,  inventions 
and  improvements  in  machinery  and  methods 
were  looked  upon  as  dispensations  of  Divine  Prov- 
idence, as  it  were,  so  far  as  employers  were  con- 
cerned. If  some  inventive  genius,  either  inside  or 
outside  of  the  organization,  made  a  revolutionary 


A  SCIENTIFIC  PLAN  31 

discovery,  well  and  good.  They  would  do  their 
best  to  avail  themselves  of  it  as  quickly  as  did 
their  competitors.  If  not,  well,  they  and  their 
competitors  were  on  the  same  plane. 

No  modern  factory  is  complete  without  its  ex- 
perimental and  inventing  department.  The  in- 
ventor is  no  longer  either  a  starving  genius  in  a 
garret  or  a  lucky  fellow  who  stumbles  on  a  dis- 
covery, but  a  salaried  man  with  whom  inventing  is 
a  profession. 

We  have  seen  the  same  changes  occur  in  selling, 
financing,  accounting,  producing,  efficiency  engi- 
neering, and  other  phases  of  manufacturing  within 
the  last  few  years.  All  this  simply  means  that 
which  had  been  left  entirely  to  chance  or  delegated 
helter-skelter  to  minor  executives  who  might  or 
might  not  be  competent  —  and  certainly  were  not 
provided  with  time,  money,  and  equipment  for 
accuracy  —  has  now  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
competent  person,  amply  provided  with  all  neces- 
sary means  for  supplanting  haphazard,  hit-or-miss, 
guesswork  methods  by  orderly,  accurate,  and  effi- 
cient procedure  and  exact  knowledge. 

ESSENTIALS  OF  THE  BLACKFORD  PLAN  OF 
EMPLOYMENT 

The  plan  of  employment  here  presented  has  been 
designed  to  operate  upon  the  same  fundamental 


32         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

principles.  The  plan  closely  follows  in  its  essen- 
tials the  evolution  of  other  recent  phases  of  our 
industrial  and  commercial  life.  In  practice  the 
plan  consists  in  concentrating  authority  and  re- 
sponsibility for  all  relations  between  employer  and 
employee  in  an  employment  department  under  the 
direction  and  supervision  of  a  specially  selected  and 
trained  employment  supervisor.  Wherever  we  have 
installed  the  plan  our  first  step  has  been  to  select 
and  train  with  great  care  an  employment  supervisor, 
and  to  assist  him  in  the  organization  of  his  staff  and 
in  the  creation  of  an  employment  department. 

The  first  duty  of  the  employment  department, 
after  it  has  been  organized,  located  in  its  offices, 
and  completely  equipped  for  work,  is  to  relieve 
foremen,  heads  of  departments,  and  other  line 
officers  of  the  responsibility  and  trouble  of  inter- 
viewing applicants,  selecting  employees,  making 
transfers  and  adjustments,  discharging  employees, 
and  all  similar  duties  and  obligations.  Thus  re- 
lieved, foremen  and  other  executives  are  able  to 
devote  their  entire  time,  thought,  and  energy  to 
administration  and  management,  and  to  the  specific 
duties  of  their  positions. 

When  this  first  step  has  been  taken,  the  employ- 
ment department  finds  itself  responsible  for  the 
personnel  of  the  organization,  finds  itself  faced 
with  the  task  of  creating  out  of  whatever  human 


A  SCIENTIFIC  PLAN  33 

material  is  at  hand  and  can  be  secured  the  ideal 
organization  described  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

The  advantages  to  an  institution,  large  or  small, 
of  an  employment  department,  are  many.  So 
great  is  the  superiority  of  a  definite,  scientific  plan 
over  unstandardized  methods,  with  scattered  re- 
sponsibility, that  only  by  widespread  adoption  of 
such  a  plan  in  many  different  kinds  of  business 
institutions  can  all  of  the  advantages  be  known. 
We  suggest  here  a  few  which  have  been  demon- 
strated in  our  own  experience. 

UNIFORMITY   OF  POLICY  AND   METHODS 

First.  An  efficient  central  employment  depart- 
ment greatly  facilitates  the  application  of  a  uniform 
policy  to  all  relationships  between  employees  and 
management.  It  is  far  easier  to  instil  ideals  into 
the  minds  of  an  employment  supervisor  and  his 
assistants,  and  to  hold  them  responsible  for  the 
realization  of  those  ideals,  than  it  is  to  instruct  and 
hold  in  line  a  number  of  minor  executives,  such  as 
heads  of  departments,  foremen,  gang  bosses,  super- 
intendents, chief  clerks,  head  stenographers,  etc. 
The  management  may  have  high  ideals  as  to  jus- 
tice, mutual  service,  loyalty,  obedience,  or  any  other 
qualities.  This  plan  affords  an  opportunity  for  the 
better  realization  of  these  ideak  throughout  th» 
entire  institution. 


34         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Second.  In  a  central  employment  department 
it  has  been  found  possible  to  work  out  and  adopt 
uniform  methods  of  dealing  with  employees.  By 
careful  study  and  experimentation  the  most  ad- 
vantageous methods  have  been  determined  and, 
as  the  result  of  experience  crystallized  in  records, 
have  been  perfected.  There  must  be  one  best 
policy,  one  best  set  of  ideals,  and  one  best  method 
of  employment  for  every  institution.  It  is  only 
by  the  concentration  of  all  matters  pertaining  to 
employment  in  one  central  department  that  these 
policies,  these  ideals,  and  these  methods  can  be 
determined  and  applied. 

Third.  Every  business  enterprise  has,  or  should 
have,  its  own  definite  standards  of  efficiency  and  of 
corresponding  rates  of  compensation  for  its  em- 
ployees. It  should  also  have  standards  as  to 
physical  condition,  education,  experience,  moral 
character,  and  other  qualifications,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  business  and  the  position  occupied 
by  the  employee.  With  uniformity  and  concen- 
tration of  responsibility,  the  maintenance  of  such 
standards  is  made  less  difficult.  One  very  fre- 
quent cause  of  friction  and  ill-feeling  between  em- 
ployers and  employees  is  the  inequality  of  policies, 
methods,  and  standards  almost  inevitable  when 
every  minor  executive  in  the  institution  is  a  more 
or  less  absolute  monarch  in  his  own  little  realm  so 


A  SCIENTIFIC  PLAN  35 

far  as  hiring,  "firing,"  and  promotion  are  con- 
cerned. 

ECONOMY    AND    CONTROL 

Fourth.  It  is  a  cardinal  rule  of  efficiency  that 
concentration  of  function  wherever  possible  results 
in  the  elimination  of  waste,  and  therefore  in 
economy.  First  of  all,  there  is  economy  in  the 
time  of  foremen,  department  heads,  and  other  ex- 
ecutives freed  from  the  necessity  of  interviewing 
applicants.  We  have  already  referred  to  this. 
In  some  cases  it  amounts  to  a  very  considerable 
saving.  We  have  also  found  that  the  adoption  of 
this  plan  effects  large  savings  in  the  number  of 
employees  placed  on  the  pay-roll.  A  sympathetic 
foreman,  chief  clerk,  or  other  executive  is  prone  to 
hire  more  men  than  he  needs  when  applicants  are 
-permitted  to  go  to  him  with  their  pleas.  In  a  case 
which  recently  came  under  our  observation,  an 
office  manager,  moved  by  the  artistic  hard-luck 
story  of  an  ancient  loafer  and  town  character,  gave 
him  a  job  in  the  accounting  department  at  a  time 
when  competent  men  who  had  served  the  company 
faithfully  for  years,  who  owned  homes  in  the  com- 
munity, and  were  valued  citizens,  were  laid  off  on 
account  of  depression  consequent  upon  reorgani- 
zation of  the  business. 

It  is  a  practice  in  many  organizations  for  execu- 


36         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

lives  to  keep  their  forces  intact,  even  during  tem- 
porary lulls,  so  that  a  resumption  of  activity  may 
not  find  them  short-handed.  It  is  a  common  ex- 
perience to  see  workers  in  one  department  of  a 
factory  or  store  rushed  to  the  limit  of  endurance, 
working  overtime,  while  the  working  force  of  an- 
other department  loafs.  In  all  such  cases  a  central 
employment  department  acts  as  an  accommodator, 
equalizing  the  pressure,  withdrawing  workers  where 
they  are  not  needed,  transferring  them  to  where 
they  are  needed,  maintaining  reserve  lists  of  workers 
for  all  departments,  and  keeping  in  close  touch 
not  only  with  the  needs  of  each  department,  but 
with  applicants  who  stand  ready  to  begin  work 
upon  short  notice. 

Fifth.  The  concentration  in  one  department  of 
all  relationships  with  employees  gives  the  manage- 
ment a  small  handle,  easily  grasped  and  with  a  big 
leverage,  for  the  control  of  one  of  the  most  important 
and  usually  most  troublesome  factors  in  a  business. 
In  this  department  there  are  standardized,  and 
therefore  uniform,  records  not  only  of  all  employees, 
but  of  all  phases  of  the  employment  situation. 
This  means  that  there  is  always  at  hand  reliable, 
accurate,  and  definite  information.  Does  the  man- 
agement want  a  man  with  some  special  ability 
at  a  moment's  notice?  The  employment  depart- 
ment has  long  had  its  eye  upon  such  a  man,  either 


A  SCIENTIFIC  PLAN  37 

employed  in  some  capacity  in  the  institution  or 
upon  its  list  of  applicants.  Is  it  desirable  to  know 
which  one  of  a  dozen  minor  executives  is  the  most 
successful  in  handling  men?  A  digest  of  the  rec- 
ords in  the  employment  department  quickly  gives 
the  answer. 

EMPLOYMENT    BY    EXPERTS. 

Sixth.  By  the  adoption  of  this  plan  we  have 
been  enabled  to  put  all  employment  matters  into 
the  hands  of  those  specially  selected,  educated, 
and  trained  for  the  work  —  in  other  words,  to 
avail  ourselves  of  the  services  of  experts  in  employment. 
This  also  is  in  line  with  efficiency  and  scientific 
management  methods.  The  efficiency  engineer 
centres  all  responsibility  for  certain  functions  of  the 
organization  in  the  hands  of  experts  called  staff 
officers,  such  as  purchasing  agents,  storekeepers,  and 
chiefs  of  power  and  maintenance,  lighting,  belting, 
safety,  sanitation,  dispatching,  scheduling,  and  other 
such  departments.  The  scientific  management  ex- 
pert centres  responsibility  for  all  these  things  in 
what  are  called  functional  foremen.  The  results  in 
both  systems  are  well  known  to  those  who  have  had 
experience  with  them  or  studied  them.  It  all  means 
taking  responsibility  out  of  the  hands  of  those  who 
may  or  may  not  be  competent,  and  turning  it  over 
to  those  who  are  known  to  be  expert. 


38         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

BROAD  SCOPE  OF  PLAN 

Seventh.  By  the  installation  of  an  employment 
department  the  scope  of  employment  activity  can 
very  easily  be  greatly  broadened.  For  example,  it 
would  obviously  be  a  great  waste  for  the  account- 
ing, sales,  collection,  advertising,  designing,  and 
several  other  departments  and  divisions  of  a  store, 
factory,  office,  or  bank,  each  to  send  out  a  scout 
in  search  of  desirable  applicants.  But  employ- 
ment supervisors  frequently  either  go  themselves 
or  send  some  member  of  their  staff  on  a  scouting 
expedition,  searching  for  needed  employees  for  all 
departments  of  a  business.  A  central  employment 
department  can  attempt  far  more  in  the  matter  of 
records,  files,  advertising  for  help,  analysis  of  posi- 
tions, and  analysis  of  men,  than  would  be  possible 
without  such  specialization  of  function.  It  is  also 
possible  for  the  employment  department  to  organ- 
ize and  direct  all  of  those  activities,  with  reference 
to  health,  happiness,  and  loyalty  of  employees, 
commonly  referred  to  as  welfare  work.  This  is 
especially  true  with  reference  to  general  and  special 
education  and  training  of  employees. 

Our  records  show  that  the  average  employee  in 
the  average  institution  represents  a  capitalized 
value  of  between  $2,500  and  $3,000  to  his  em- 
ployer. It  is  the  function  of  the  employment  de- 
partment not  only  to  protect  that  investment  from 


A  SCIENTIFIC  PLAN  39 

depreciation  and  loss  in  every  way  possible,  but  even 
to  develop  and  increase  its  value. 

Thus  centralizing  employment  activities  is  the 
external  mechanism  of  our  plan.  But  its  distinc- 
tive and  essential  features  lie  rather  in  the  scien- 
tific analysis  of  all  factors  of  employment  and  action 
based  upon  these  analyses,  interpreted  in  the  light 
of  experience  and  common  sense. 


CHAPTER  IV 

DISCIPLINE 

WHY,  your  plan  is  impossible!  If  we  take 
away  from  our  executive  heads  the  right 
to  'hire  and  fire,'  they  will  lose  control  of 
their  men.  Most  of  them  will  walk  out.  They 
won't  stand  for  it." 

The  air  of  finality  with  which  the  foregoing  con- 
demnation was  delivered  when  we  first  proposed 
our  plan  to  one  employer  might  have  utterly  dis- 
couraged us.  But  we  had  heard  many  other  high 
authorities  declare  that  certain  things  were  utterly 
impossible,  and  yet  these  very  things  had  been  done. 

We  had  an  idea,  originating  in  a  good  many 
years'  experience  and  study,  that  the  average 
executive  would  be  only  too  glad  to  be  relieved  of  a 
responsibility  which  took  time  from  the  regular 
duties  of  his  position,  and  which  he  did  not  feel 
particularly  well  qualified  to  perform.  The  aver- 
age executive,  whether  head  of  a  department  or 
foreman  of  a  gang,  is  a  man  of  intelligence  and 
common  sense,  a  man  who  is  willing  to  listen  to 
reason,  a  man  who  is  not  so  puffed  up  with  a  little 

49 


DISCIPLINE  41 

brief  authority  that  he  is  unwilling  to  relinquish 
this  prerogative  if  by  so  doing  he  can  greatly  in- 
crease the  harmony,  efficiency,  and  output  of  the 
department  for  which  he  is  responsible.  We  be- 
lieved that  the  very  incompetency  —  not  at  all 
his  fault  —  of  the  average  executive  to  "hire  and 
fire"  would  be  the  strongest  argument  in  his  mind 
for  turning  it  over  to  an  expert. 

The  average  executive  is  incompetent  to  select 
and  assign  or  to  discharge  employees.  If  in  the 
modern,  scientifically  managed  institution  the  ex- 
ecutive or  foreman  is  considered  to  be,  and  ac- 
knowledges himself  to  be,  incompetent  to  select 
raw  materials  and  machinery,  how  can  he  rea- 
sonably be  expected  to  select,  assign,  or  throw  out, 
human  values  which  are  so  difficult  of  analysis 
that  some  of  the  critics  who  want  to  leave  the  re- 
sponsibility to  minor  executives  declare  in  the 
same  breath  that  not  even  an  expert  can  be  trained 
to  analyze  and  understand  human  nature?  It  is 
significant  that  no  one  who  insists  that  department 
heads  should  select  and  discharge  their  own  men 
has  the  temerity  to  maintain  that  they  are  com- 
petent to  do  it  scientifically. 

THE  "HIRE  AND  FIRE"  METHOD 

The  average  executive  is  not  expected  to  select 
employees  fitted  by  aptitudes,  character,  training, 


42         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

and  experience  for  the  work  they  have  to  do.  He 
is  expected  to  select  such  men  as  he  can  secure  — 
who  are  not  absolutely  debarred  from  the  work  by 
some  deficiency  that  he  can  see  with  half  an  eye  — 
and  then  to  try  them  out.  Unless  they  prove  to  be 
hopelessly  incompetent,  they  are  retained  for  a 
short  time  at  least;  otherwise  they  hear  the  ulti- 
matum, "Go  get  your  time!"  It  matters  not,  of 
course,  that  the  man  so  discharged,  while  unsatis- 
factory in  the  eyes  of  this  particular  official,  might 
have  proved  to  be  a  treasure  beyond  price  in  some 
other  department.  He  is  "fired,"  and,  by  an  un- 
written law,  when  discharged  from  one  department 
must  not  be  hired  by  any  other. 

The  injustice  to  the  employee  thus  discharged 
is  great.  But  the  loss  to  the  institution  is  far 
greater.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  an  executive 
might  thus  discharge  a  possible  Charles  M. 
Schwab,  it  costs  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  dol- 
lars to  put  a  man's  name  on  the  pay-roll  and  take 
it  off  again.  A  group  of  thirty  sales  managers, 
representing  as  many  different  lines  of  business, 
agreed  that  the  average  cost  of  selecting,  training, 
and  putting  a  salesman  into  the  field  is  three  hun- 
dred dollars. 

We  believed  that  another  reason  why  foremen 
and  executives  would  be  glad  to  turn  over  to  an 
efficient  employment  department  the  duties  and 


DISCIPLINE  43 

responsibilities  of  hiring,  promoting,  transferring, 
and  discharging  was  the  consideration  of  time. 
In  one  institution  where  we  installed  an  employ- 
ment department  the  comptroller,  a  very  busy 
man,  told  us  that  the  new  department  was  saving 
at  least  a  full  day  of  his  time  every  week.  As  he 
drew  a  salary  of  $10,000  a  year,  there  was  an  an- 
nual saving  of  between  $1,600  and  $1,700  in  the 
time  of  this  one  man  alone.  Our  investigations 
have  proved  that  either  the  executive  must  de- 
vote so  much  time  to  employment  matters  as 
seriously  to  handicap  him  in  his  other  duties,  or 
else  attend  to  them  in  so  hurried  and  slipshod  a 
fashion  that  they  might  better  be  left  to  an  intelli- 
gent office  boy. 

But,  supposing  for  the  moment  that  your  fore- 
men, or  buyers,  or  department  heads  are  compe- 
tent, that  they  know  just  the  kind  of  employees 
they  want,  and  know  accurately  how  to  tell  this 
kind  from  the  kind  they  do  not  want,  they  are  in 
very  little  better  case  than  we  have  pictured  them, 
because  they  have  no  time,  no  equipment,  and  no 
assistance  to  secure  efficient  applicants  from  whom 
to  select.  The  unusual  gang-boss  may  occasionally 
find  time  and  opportunity  to  go  on  a  still  hunt  for 
a  good  man  at  night  when  he  is  off  duty,  or  he  may 
have  certain  private  sources  of  information;  but 
even  he  is  not  equipped  for  anything  like  a  syste- 


44         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

matic  search  for  men.  The  average  foreman  is 
obliged  to  select  from  the  little  crowd  of  unemployed 
at  the  gate  of  the  factory.  The  average  depart- 
ment head  or  executive  must  rely  upon  chance  ap- 
plicants or  the  heterogeneous  crowd  that  answers 
advertisements,  either  in  person  or  by  letter. 

Suppose,  however,  that  in  any  organization  all 
of  the  executive  heads  are  unusual,  that  they  have 
more  or  less  effective  although  somewhat  crude 
methods  of  hunting  out  good  men.  We  have  seen 
such  enterprises.  But  the  spectacle  of  thirty  or 
forty  men,  each  maintaining  a  little  employment 
bureau  of  his  own,  with  its  attendant  expenditures 
of  time,  energy,  and  money,  was  an  example  of  du- 
plication, yes,  multiplication,  of  work  that  ought 
to  have  made  the  management  gasp.  The  depart- 
ment heads  and  gang-bosses  felt  the  sad  wasteful- 
ness of  the  thing,  and  it  was  because  we  knew  that 
they  felt  this  that  we  believed  our  plan  was  not  an 
impossibility. 

WASTE   OF  UNSCIENTIFIC   SELECTION 

Since  the  foreman  in  a  factory,  the  chief  clerk  in 
a  bank  or  office,  or  the  department  manager  in  a 
store  is  confessedly  incompetent  to  select  men  and 
women  upon  the  basis  of  their  fitness  for  their 
tasks,  upon  what  basis  may  we  expect  him  to  make 
his  selection?  His  own  opinion  is  perhaps  the  least 


DISCIPLINE  45 

objectionable  basis.  Every  man's  opinion  is  but 
the  expression  of  his  personal  bias  —  in  other  words, 
an  utterly  unscientific  and  unreliable  quantity, 
liable  to  be  turned  this  way  and  that  by  the  most 
whimsical  and  inconsequential  of  considerations. 

We  once  knew  an  executive  responsible  for  the 
industrial  lives  of  800  men.  "My  good  father 
told  me  when  I  was  a  boy,"  he  used  to  say,  "never 
to  trust  a  redhead,  and  I  never  have  had  a  redheaded 
man  or  woman  in  my  employ!"  And  yet  there 
were  any  number  of  positions  in  this  man's  or- 
ganization in  which  men  and  women  with  red  heads 
would  have  fitted  with  far  greater  efficiency  than 
those  who  occupied  them.  Other  manifestations 
of  this  same  personal  bias  are  seen  in  the  selection 
of  relatives,  old  friends,  fellow  townsmen,  co-reli- 
gionists, fellow  members  of  lodges,  clubs,  and  secret 
societies,  and  people  of  certain  nationalities. 

Many  most  desirable  applicants  are  lost  to  the 
organization  when  there  is  no  central  employment 
department.  They  go  to  one  or  perhaps  two  de- 
partments and  are  told  that  they  are  not  needed. 
And  yet  perhaps  at  that  very  time  employees  of 
their  particular  abilities  are  most  sadly  needed  in 
some  other  department. 

Many  an  executive,  with  honest  intentions  but 
wavering  will-power,  would  be  delighted  to  turn 
over  all  employment  to  some  one  eke  because  of 


46         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

the  constant  temptation  to  graft.  We  have  found 
foremen  exacting  a  bribe  from  every  man  they 
placed  upon  their  pay-rolls  and  further  sums  from 
every  man  they  promoted  or  whose  pay  they  raised. 
We  have  known  foremen  to  maintain  a  number  of 
dummy  names  on  their  pay-rolls  and  convey  the 
contents  of  all  these  pay  envelopes  to  their  own 
pockets.  We  have  known  other  minor  executives, 
in  institutions  where  such  practices  were  going  on, 
sorely  tried  and  tempted  in  keeping  their  honour 
clear.  For  these  reasons  we  believed  that  execu- 
tive heads  would  be  glad  to  have  their  employees 
selected  and  assigned  scientifically  by  a  department 
equipped  for  that  work. 

And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  glad.  The 
protests  came,  not  from  the  men  from  whom  the 
prerogative  of  hiring  and  firing  had  been  taken,  but 
from  the  management.  Our  experience  has  been 
no  different  from  that  of  efficiency  engineers  and 
scientific  management  experts.  The  first  objection 
of  the  management  always  is,  "Our  business  is 
different."  When  that  has  been  overcome,  we  are 
fully  prepared  for  the  next  objection,  and  it  in- 
variably comes:  "Our  foremen  and  employees 
would  never  stand  for  it";  or  "Our  department 
heads  would  never  give  up  their  right  to  hire  and 
fire."  In  the  end,  if  anybody  interferes  with  the 
harmonious  working  of  the  plan  or  balks  at  any 


DISCIPLINE  47 

of  its  provisions,  it  is  always  the  management. 
The  minor  executives  and  the  men  in  the  ranks 
fall  in  with  the  plan  easily  enough,  and  within  a 
very  short  time  are  working  harmoniously  under 
it  and,  almost  without  exception,  are  delighted 
with  it. 

DIFFICULTIES    AND     OBSTACLES 

In  one  very  large  organization  where  we  in- 
stalled an  employment  department  the  offices  were 
fitted  up,  the  supervisor  and  his  staff  chosen,  all 
necessary  blanks  and  records  printed  and  ready 
to  use,  before  any  one,  except  the  management, 
knew  anything  about  the  contemplated  new  depart- 
ure. Then  all  executives,  heads  of  departments, 
and  foremen  were  invited  to  attend  a  reception 
and  meeting  in  the  suite  of  offices  that  had  been 
prepared.  Everything  possible  was  done  to  make 
the  affair  pleasant  socially.  At  this  gathering  the 
plan  was  described,  the  blanks  to  be  used  were  ex- 
hibited and  explained,  and  complete  instructions 
were  given  as  to  their  use.  Emphasis  was  laid 
upon  the  advantages  of  the  plan  to  the  foremen 
and  heads  of  departments.  The  men  were  en- 
couraged to  ask  questions,  which  were  carefully 
answered.  As  a  result  of  this  meeting  the  hearty 
cooperation  of  a  number  of  the  foremen  was  im- 
mediately enlisted,  and  observation  of  the  plan  ii» 


48         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS, 

its  practical  workings  soon  won  over  the  recalci- 
trants. 

In  another  large  institution  where  a  method 
somewhat  similar  to  this  was  adopted,  at  the  be- 
ginning the  task  of  securing  intelligent  and  enthu- 
siastic cooperation  from  the  heads  of  departments 
was  not  so  easy.  While  most  of  them  seemed  to 
fall  into  line  readily  enough  when  the  plan  was 
presented  to  them,  difficulties  speedily  developed 
when  actual  operation  was  begun.  At  first,  either 
through  inadvertence  or  in  the  hope  of  finding 
the  new  rules  inoperative,  department  heads  at- 
tempted to  hire  workers  without  recognizing  the 
employment  department.  Inasmuch  as  they  found 
it  impossible  to  have  the  names  of  the  new  em- 
ployees thus  engaged  placed  on  the  pay-roll,  they 
soon  changed  their  tactics.  They  employed  men 
and  women  and  set  them  to  work  and  then  sent 
them  to  the  employment  department  to  apply  for 
positions  in  which  they  had  already  been  placed. 
By  patience  and  kindness,  combined  with  vigilance 
and  firmness,  the  employment  supervisor  finally 
persuaded  these  executives  that  this  method  would 
not  be  permitted. 

Their  next  move,  therefore,  was  to  send  people 
whose  names  they  desired  to  place  upon  the  pay-roll, 
to  the  employment  department  with  an  enthusiastic 
recommendation.  Investigation  frequently  showed 


DISCIPLINE  49 

that  those  thus  recommended  were  either  former 
employees  who  had  left  with  a  bad  record,  relatives, 
or  personal  friends  of  the  department  head,  or,  for 
some  other  reason,  unemployable  in  the  capacity 
recommended. 

In  some  cases  there  was  the  most  stubborn  re- 
sistance to  every  attempt  of  the  employment  de- 
partment to  study  conditions.  This  resistance 
was  met  with  kindness  and  consideration  but  abso- 
lute firmness.  The  resulting  investigation  always 
showed  that  there  were  irregularities  in  the  de- 
partment which  the  head  of  it  wished  to  conceal. 
Sometimes  it  would  turn  out  that  there  were  dum- 
mies on  the  pay-roll  or  that  employees  were  paying 
their  superior  for  their  positions,  increases,  promo- 
tions, holidays,  and  other  privileges. 

There  seemed  to  be  an  irresistible  temptation 
on  the  part  of  some  executives  to  transfer  men 
from  one  department  to  another  without  consult- 
ing the  employment  department.  These  transfers 
sometimes  included  a  change  in  the  rate  of  pay, 
and  otherwise  entangled  the  records. 

In  some  cases,  when  a  rush  of  work  was  antici- 
pated, executives  would  send  requisitions  for  more 
men  than  they  needed,  not  trusting  the  department 
to  find  enough  workers  for  them. 

It  was  difficult  at  first  to  prevail  upon  some  of 
the  heads  of  departments  to  take  pains  with  their 


50         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

reports  to  the  employment  supervisor.  Some  were 
lazy,  some  were  indifferent,  some  were  ignorant, 
and  some  evidently  held  the  whole  plan  in  con- 
tempt. 

For  some  time  heads  of  departments  continued 
to  discharge  their  men,  for  no  good  reason,  simply 
to  show  their  authority,  or  because  of  a  whim  or 
loss  of  temper  or  personal  bias  or  jealousy.  At 
times  men  in  the  organization  who  were  disgruntled 
attempted  to  foment  a  strike. 

MEETING   DIFFICULTIES 

All  of  these  difficulties  and  others  were  met,  first 
of  all,  by  having  the  employment  department  so 
well  organized,  and  its  finger  so  closely  upon  the 
pulse  of  the  entire  organization,  that  every  at- 
tempted irregularity  was  quickly  known.  As  soon 
as  the  evidence  was  all  in  hand,  the  department 
head  responsible  for  the  irregularity  was  called  in. 
He  was  talked  with  kindly  but  firmly.  It  was  as- 
sumed, as  a  general  rule,  that  his  departure  from 
the  plan  was  due,  not  to  any  rebelliousness  on  his 
part,  but  to  a  lack  of  thorough  understanding, 
which  was  often  true.  Desiring  to  shield  them- 
selves from  the  charge  of  ignorance  or  stupidity, 
heads  of  departments  usually  exclaimed  glibly: 
"Oh,  yes,  I  understand  how  to  use  the  plan."  In- 
vestigation showed  that  in  some  cases  where  this 


DISCIPLINE  51 

claim  was  made  they  did  not  even  understand  how 
to  fill  out  the  simplest  blank;  so  the  whole  plan  was 
painstakingly  explained  to  them  from  their  point 
of  view,  not  so  much  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
organization.  The  effort  of  the  employment  super- 
visor was  to  show  them  how  the  plan  would  benefit 
them,  how  it  would  save  them  time,  how  it  would 
bring  to  light  their  efficiency,  how  it  would  supply 
them  with  more  efficient,  more  congenial,  more 
loyal,  and  less  troublesome  help,  how  it  would  en- 
able them  to  make  a  better  and  better  showing  for 
their  departments.  Not  in  the  first  interview  al- 
ways, nor  in  the  second,  but  finally  every  depart- 
ment head  either  fell  into  line  or,  realizing  that  he 
was  entirely  out  of  harmony  with  the  new  spirit 
of  the  organization,  voluntarily  tendered  his  res- 
ignation. 

Nor  did  the  work  of  the  employment  supervisor 
end  here.  Occasional  get-together  meetings  were 
held  with  the  heads  of  departments .  Difficulties  and 
misunderstandings  that  had  arisen  were  threshed 
out.  Questions  were  answered.  Experiences  were 
related,  and  in  a  quiet  way  much  was  done  to 
arouse  and  stimulate  enthusiasm  for  the  plan. 

In  addition  to  this,  an  expert  from  the  employ- 
ment department  interviewed  every  superior  and 
minor  executive  in  the  organization,  sized  him  up, 
learned  his  preferences  and  peculiarities,  diplo- 


52         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

matically  wheedled  out  of  him  his  objections  to  the 
plan,  if  he  had  any,  and  sounded  him  for  suggestions 
for  its  improvement.  Much  valuable  information 
was  obtained  in  this  way,  as  well  as  some  valuable 
hints  for  the  improvement  of  the  service. 

RESULTS    CONVINCE    THE    OBSTINATE 

All  of  these  methods  were  effective,  and  one  by 
one  most  of  the  heads  of  departments  accepted 
the  innovation  and  worked  gladly  hand  in  hand 
with  the  employment  department.  It  was  inevi- 
table in  so  large  an  organization  as  this  one  that 
some  exceedingly  hard-headed  and  conservative 
executives  should  resist  to  the  bitter  end.  When, 
however,  they  began  to  see  the  actual  results  their 
attitude  changed.  They  found  that  the  efficiency 
of  the  workers  furnished  them  by  the  employment 
department  was  of  a  much  higher  quality,  on  an 
average,  than  of  the  workmen  they  had  been  able 
to  obtain  by  their  own  efforts.  They  found  the 
expenses  of  their  departments  decreasing,  and  the 
production  increasing.  They  found  friction  and 
trouble  with  employees  decreasing,  and  in  the  end 
they  were  delighted,  because  they  had  more  time 
for  the  real  duties  of  their  positions  and  were  free 
from  interruptions,  since  they  did  not  need  to  inter- 
view applicants.  With  the  exception,  therefore,  of 
a  few  who  resigned  because  they  felt  themselves 


DISCIPLINE  53 

wholly  out  of  harmony  with  the  scientific  spirit 
of  the  employment  plan,  every  one  of  these  heads 
of  departments  not  only  gave  the  employment  su- 
pervisor his  enthusiastic  cooperation,  but  formed 
the  habit  of  going  to  him  for  counsel  and  advice 
upon  many  matters  pertaining  to  his  subordi- 
nates. 

The  method  just  outlined  is  perhaps  the  best 
for  the  average  large  business.  In  smaller  insti- 
tutions it  has  been  found  advantageous  to  vary  this 
method  somewhat  according  to  circumstances.  In 
one  smaller  organization  the  foremen  were  inter- 
viewed individually  by  the  employment  supervisor, 
the  whole  plan  being  explained  to  them,  and  their 
cooperation  requested.  All  but  one  of  them  was 
immediately  convinced  of  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  and  pledged  their  support.  In  the  case  of 
one  who  was  skeptical,  analysis  of  some  of  the 
men  who  were  giving  him  trouble  and  other  prac- 
tical measures  demonstrating  the  value  of  the 
idea  finally  won  him  over. 

In  still  another  organization,  where  there  was 
splendid  discipline  and  unusual  loyalty,  the  employ- 
ment department  was  installed  by  a  simple  order 
from  headquarters,  every  foreman  and  head  of  de- 
partment falling  into  line. 

One  comparatively  small  organization  began  its 
work  with  an  employment  department  by  having 


54          THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

the  heads  of  departments  themselves  first  of  all 
analyzed  and  readjusted.  The  employment  ex- 
pert advised  several  changes  among  these  execu- 
tives which  worked  out  so  advantageously  that, 
after  some  little  adjustment,  they  were  willing 
to  have  the  same  method  applied  to  their  subor- 
dinates. 

DISCIPLINE    BY    FEAR    OF    DISCHARGE 

Employing  men  and  women  scientifically  by  a 
properly  organized  employment  department  is  no 
easy  task  even  under  the  best  conditions.  It  is 
difficult  • —  and  sometimes  impossible  —  when  the 
management  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  med- 
dle. If  the  minor  executives  and  employees  are 
perfectly  willing  and  agreeable,  then  some  official 
higher  up  is  quite  likely  to  be  sure  that  they  are 
trying  to  shirk  responsibility.  It  is  usual  for  some 
one  or  more  of  the  management  to  fear  that  heads 
of  departments,  foremen,  or  gang-bosses  cannot 
maintain  discipline  unless  they  shake  all  day  long 
over  the  heads  of  their  employees  the  club  of  dis- 
charge. As  a  matter  of  fact,  an  intelligent  and 
efficient  executive  keeps  that  club  concealed  and 
uses  it  not  at  all  except  in  cases  of  dire  emergency 
—  then  not  for  discipline's  sake. 

Civilization  has  advanced  beyond  that  stage 
of  development  where  fear  is  the  strongest  motive 


DISCIPLINE  55 

to  excellence.  A  savage  or  a  criminal  may  refrain 
from  wrongdoing  —  except  on  the  sly  —  because 
he  is  afraid.  But  an  intelligent,  efficient  employee 
strives  to  excel  and  to  conform  with  the  regulations 
of  the  organization  in  which  he  finds  himself  be- 
cause of  higher  motives  than  fear  of  discharge.  It 
is  true  that  there  are  a  great  many  men,  not  only 
in  the  lower  grades  of  employment,  but  unfortu- 
nately in  the  higher  grades,  who  are  deceitful, 
whose  ambition  is  to  get  as  much  as  possible  for 
as  little  service  as  possible.  It  is  true  that  many 
employees  seem  to  have  no  higher  ambition  than 
to  beat  the  boss  in  some  way.  But  to  hold  over 
such  men  the  threat  of  discharge  will  never  make 
them  honest,  or  desirous  of  doing  their  best.  Its 
only  effect  is  to  make  them  more  cunning  and 
more  deceitful.  Furthermore,  the  dishonest,  shirk- 
ing employee  is  not  the  type  employers  desire. 

In  order  to  build  up  an  ideal  organization,  an 
organization  in  which  all  of  the  workers  express  in 
their  work  their  highest  and  best  constructive 
thoughts  and  feelings,  men  and  women  must  be 
selected  who  are  honest  and  truthful  and  who  re- 
spond to  higher  motives  than  fear  of  discharge. 
In  any  organization  such  a  standard  of  character 
may  be  established  for  employees,  and  through  an 
efficient  employment  department  such  employees 
may  be  selected,  and  the  unintelligent,  the  unreli- 


56         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

able,  and  the  lazy  rejected.  That  an  organization 
has  set  up  such  standards  soon  becomes  known, 
and  only  such  men  apply  as  are  willing  to  meet  the 
conditions. 

MEN    RESPOND    TO    HIGHER   MOTIVES 

In  practice  we  readily  detect  those  who  are  un- 
truthful, for  example.  They  are  almost  certain  to 
tell  us  falsehoods  when  applying  for  work.  When 
they  do,  we  frequently  reject  their  applications 
and  tell  them  why  they  are  rejected.  The  effect 
of  this  is  often  interesting.  One  young  man  who 
had  lied  to  us  returned  and  pleaded  with  us  to  per- 
mit him  to  make  another  application.  "I  will 
tell  you  the  truth  this  time,"  he  said.  "I  lied 
to  you  before."  Even  the  lower  grades  of  shop 
employees,  men  whose  training  oftentimes  had 
not  included  instruction  in  truthfulness,  men  who 
could  scarcely  comprehend  at  first  that  there  was 
anything  wrong  in  lying,  returned  to  us  and  asked 
to  be  permitted  to  tell  the  truth. 

It  has  been  found,  not  only  in  our  experience, 
but  in  the  experience  of  many  employers  and  other 
investigators,  that  even  the  crudest  and  least  hope- 
ful of  employees  will  respond  to  higher  mo- 
tives far  more  readily  than  to  the  destructive 
motive  of  fear.  In  every  human  being  there  is  a 
sense  of  justice  and  fair-play.  This  can  be  ap- 


DISCIPLINE  67 

pealed  to,  first,  by  giving  the  fair  deal;  and  second, 
by  quiet  suggestion  on  the  part  of  superiors,  of  the 
employment  supervisor  or  some  of  his  staff.  Again 
and  again  we  have  adjusted  differences  between 
superiors  and  their  subordinates,  between  em- 
ployee and  employee,  by  a  straightforward  appeal 
to  the  spirit  of  fair-play.  The  men  who  heeded 
this  appeal  were  always  pleased  with  the  results. 
They  had  played  fair,  and  it  added  greatly  to  their 
self-respect.  We  have  seen  men  who  began  their 
upward  climb  in  the  world  through  trying  to  live 
up  to  one  little  unselfish  act  of  fair-play. 

The  employer  who  does  not  avail  himself  of  the 
natural,  healthy  love  of  work  in  his  men  as  a  mo- 
tive for  excellence  loses  much.  No  matter  what  a 
man's  vocation  may  be,  his  work  has  the  spice  of 
romance.  Into  every  kind  of  work,  no  matter 
how  lowly,  can  be  introduced  a  desire  for  artistic 
excellence.  We  have  seen  shovellers  taking  great 
pride  in  their  expertness  with  the  shovel,  in  the 
distance  they  could  throw  and  the  way  they  could 
land  the  shovel-load,  either  in  a  small,  compact  pile, 
or  scattered,  as  they  chose.  The  right  kind  of 
treatment  and  attention  by  the  right  kind  of  im- 
mediate superior,  and  the  right  kind  of  manage- 
ment, will  make  almost  any  man  love  his  work  and 
take  pride  in  doing  it  well.  The  motive  of  pride 
is  one  that  can  be  appealed  to  in  all  men. 


58         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

A   SCHOOL  FOR  EXECUTIVES 

A  well-qualified  employment  supervisor  teaches 
executives  what  motives  will  be  found  strongest 
in  each  of  their  men.  On  one  occasion  we  were 
called  in  conference  by  an  employer  with  reference 
to  a  young  man  in  his  advertising  department.  The 
employer  told  us  that  the  young  man  was  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  he  had,  an  enthusiastic,  con- 
scientious, and  tireless  worker,  whose  brain  teemed 
with  original  ideas.  Suddenly,  and  inexplicably 
to  his  employer,  the  young  man  lost  interest  in  his 
work  and  became  sullen,  irritable,  and  practically 
worthless.  "I  don't  want  to  let  him  go,"  the 
employer  said  to  us,  "but  unless  he  braces  up  he  is 
worse  than  useless  to  me."  As  soon  as  we  looked 
at  the  young  man  we  saw  that  he  was  sensitive, 
proud,  and  keenly  responsive.  "Some  way  or 
other,"  we  said  to  the  employer,  "you  have  humili- 
ated that  boy,  you  have  hurt  his  pride.  He  will  be 
useless  to  you  until  the  wound  is  healed.  Perhaps, 
if  you  know  how  he  was  hurt,  you  yourself  can 
apply  the  salve."  The  employer  then  acknowl- 
edged to  us  that  he  had  severely  reprimanded  the 
young  man  in  the  presence  of  his  associates,  and 
recalled  that  this  was  indeed  the  beginning  of  his 
trouble.  At  our  suggestion,  this  young  man  was 
treated  with  greater  courtesy,  consideration,  and 
justice.  Occasionally,  when  he  had  so  far  for- 


DISCIPLINE  59 

gotten  his  wounded  pride  as  to  manifest  a  little  of 
his  old-time  excellence,  his  employer  would  give 
him  a  quiet  word  of  commendation.  The  result 
was  that  within  a  few  weeks  he  was  doing  better 
work  than  ever. 

Hope  of  promotion,  increase  in  wages,  bonus  for 
efficiency,  and  other  forms  of  reward  have  been 
found  far  better  aids  in  maintaining  discipline 
than  fear  of  discharge.  Love  of  the  game  is  strong 
in  nearly  every  human  being,  and  in  many  animals. 
It  was  the  victorious  broom  at  the  top  of  the  smoke- 
stack at  the  mill  showing  the  largest  production 
that  caused  the  Carnegie  company  to  outstrip  all 
its  competitors,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  It  is 
significant  that  this  appeal  was  made  largely  to 
men  doing  the  very  roughest  and  coarsest  kind  of 
work.  Any  gang  of  ditchdiggers  will  pitch  in  and 
make  the  dirt  fly  in  order  to  outdistance  another 
gang.  It  was  this  spirit  of  the  game,  introduced 
into  the  work  at  the  Isthmus,  that  enabled  Colonel 
Goethals  and  his  men  to  make  such  remarkable 
records. 

Finally,  and  perhaps  the  most  potent  of  all  means 
in  an  executive's  hands  for  maintaining  discipline, 
is  the  personal  element.  When  you  cannot  get  a 
man  to  do  a  thing  because  it  is  right  and  fair,  when 
you  cannot  get  a  man  to  do  a  thing  because  he  loves 
to  do  it,  or  because  of  his  pride  in  it,  when  you 


60         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

cannot  get  a  man  to  do  a  thing  for  pay  or  for  pro- 
motion or  to  win  a  contest,  you  often  can  get  him  to 
do  it  because  he  likes  you  and  wants  to  please  you. 
It  lies  in  human  nature  for  men  to  follow  a  loved 
leader  cheerfully  and  gladly  through  fire  and  water, 
and  even  to  death. 

In  actual  practice  we  have  found  that  the  most 
successful  handlers  of  men  use  these  means,  rather 
than  their  right  to  discharge,  in  maintaining  dis- 
cipline. Even  men  who  have  been  wont  to  shake 
the  club  over  their  employees'  heads  can  usually 
be  persuaded  to  appeal  to  higher  motives  than 
fear.  In  general,  executives  under  the  employment 
plan  are  more  thoughtful,  more  careful,  more  con- 
siderate in  their  dealings  with  their  men  when  given 
to  understand  that  every  efficient  employee  is  an 
asset  and  not  an  expense,  and  that  they  are  respon- 
sible to  the  firm  for  him.  Every  executive,  high 
or  low,  is  made  to  feel  that  his  men  have  been  care- 
fully selected  and  accepted  only  after  consultation 
with  him,  and  that  if  they  do  not  prove  to  be 
efficient  he  is  answerable.  Both  department  heads 
and  management  are  made  to  realize  that  the 
executive  who  complains  of  inefficiency,  careless- 
ness, or  insubordination  among  his  men  condemns 
himself.  We  find  that  when  executives  are  thus 
made  to  feel  responsible  for  every  man  under  their 
supervision  and  direction  they  are  more  careful  to 


DISCIPLINE  61 

give  them  the  fair  deal,  to  give  them  an  opportunity 
to  develop  and  improve,  and  to  realize  from  them 
for  the  organization  their  greatest  efficiency. 

Just  as  every  foreman,  department  head,  or 
other  executive  must  answer  to  his  superior  for  the 
good  condition,  efficiency,  and  standard  product  of 
each  of  his  machines,  or  the  proper  care  and  disposi- 
tion of  his  stock  and  fixtures,  so  he  must  answer 
to  the  employment  supervisor  for  the  health, 
happiness,  and  efficiency  of  each  of  his  men.  The 
ideal  is  for  the  foreman  or  other  executive  to  keep 
his  men,  not  discharge  them — an  ideal  which  is 
held  constantly  before  his  mind,  and  which  results 
in  better  discipline,  fewer  changes  in  personnel,  and 
far  greater  efficiency. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  JOB 

AN  ADVERTISING  manager  of  our  ac- 
quaintance told  his  president  and  general 
manager  that  he  needed  a  new  copy- writer. 

"We  have  added  that  new  line  of  brass,  copper, 
and  silver  specialties  and  there  isn't  a  man  in  my 
department  who  has  the  ability  to  write  the  dope, 
even  if  he  had  the  time,  which  none  of  them  has." 

"I  have  got  just  the  man  for  you,"  exclaimed 
the  general  manager.  "I  met  him  on  my  trip  to 
St.  Paul  and  I  never  in  my  life  saw  a  man  better 
fitted  for  that  job  than  this  fellow.  I'll  wire  for 
him  to-night." 

"But,"  objected  the  advertising  manager,  "what 
has  he  done?  What  is  his  experience?  Whom  has 
he  been  with?" 

"Now,  don't  worry  about  that  a  minute.  1 
haven't  got  time  now  to  tell  you  all  about  him, 
but  I'll  wire  for  him,  and  I  give  you  my  word  you 
will  find  him  all  right." 

Two  days  later  the  newly  acquired  copy-writer 
arrived  to  take  up  his  duties.  He  had  given  up  his 

62 


THE  JOB  63 

position  as  bookkeeper  at  $125  a  month,  and  had 
left  his  wife  and  children  to  pack  his  household 
furniture  and  sell  his  house  and  lot.  The  man  was 
thoroughly  in  earnest,  seriously  so  in  fact,  and  did 
his  best;  but  his  copy  was  stilted,  archaic,  dry  as 
dust,  and  otherwise  impossible.  The  advertising 
manager  did  his  best  to  tell  him  what  was  expected 
of  him.  The  ex-bookkeeper  tried  faithfully  enough, 
but  his  attempts  at  the  light,  swift,  easy,  effective 
style  of  twentieth-century  advertising  would  have 
been  pitiable  if  they  had  not  been  ludicrous. 

After  the  general  manager's  "find"  had  been  in 
the  office  a  week,  the  advertising  manager  said 
to  his  chief:  "I  thought  you  said  that  man  from  St. 
Paul  was  an  ad  writer,  the  best  you  had  ever  seen. 
Why,  he  never  wrote  an  ad  before  in  his  life!  As 
far  as  I  can  find  out,  he  never  wrote  anything 
before  he  came  here.  What  put  it  into  your  head 
that  he  was  the  man  for  this  job,  anyhow?  " 

"Why,  I  thought  he  would  be  a  wonderful 
literary  man.  I  found  that  he  had  read  care- 
fully every  volume  of  Dickens,  Shakespeare,  and 
Macaulay." 

IGNORANCE  OF  REQUIREMENTS  OF  JOBS 

This  true  incident  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  igno- 
rance of  the  average  employer  regarding  the  re- 
quirements of  the  various  jobs  in  his  organization, 


64         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

and  how  to  find  men  to  fit  them.  Nor  is  the  aver- 
age foreman  or  department  head  much  better. 
Until  they  have  been  instructed,  such  executives 
continually  send  us  requisitions  for  quick,  active, 
speedy  men  for  positions  requiring  slow,  plodding, 
painstaking  accuracy;  for  careful,  cautious  men  for 
positions  which  require  a  certain  amount  of  daring; 
and  for  solid,  conservative  men  for  jobs  where  initi- 
ative, aggressiveness,  and  originality  are  the  prime 
requirements. 

We  had  a  foreman  in  one  place  who  used  to  send 
to  us  for  accurate,  methodical  men  and  then  rage 
when  he  got  them  because  they  were  slow  and  de- 
liberate. We  were  once  asked  to  recommend  for 
an  important  position  a  painstaking,  reliable  man 
in  whom  economy  must  be  a  prime  requisite.  We 
recommended  such  a  man.  Within  two  weeks  he 
was  returned  to  us  with  the  complaint  that  he  had 
not  accomplished  anything.  A  little  investigation 
showed  that  the  man  had  been  expected  to  take 
hold  of  a  badly  managed  department,  tear  it  to 
pieces,  and  put  it  together  again.  It  was  an  emer- 
gency case  and  the  principal  consideration  was 
neither  carefulness  nor  economy,  but  speed.  And 
to  make  haste  in  work  of  that  kind  required  a  man 
with  considerable  willingness  to  take  a  chance. 

As  a  general  rule,  an  executive  will  naturally 
incline  to  men  of  his  own  type,  whether  they  are 


THE  JOB  65 

best  fitted  for  the  work  to  be  done  or  not.  This 
is  the  reason  why  the  "live  wire"  hustler,  the  ag' 
gressive,  impatient,  strenuous  type  of  executive 
always  seeks  to  fill  his  ranks  with  men  as  positive 
and  reckless  as  himself;  and  why  the  quiet,  good- 
natured,  patient,  plodding  executive  is  often  sur- 
rounded by  men  of  similarly  slow  but  certain  gait. 

It  is  very  human  for  a  foreman  or  head  of  de- 
partment, having  chosen  his  men  with  such  igno- 
rance of  the  requirements  of  the  positions  they  are 
to  fill,  to  blame  the  men  and  not  himself  when  they 
turn  out  to  be  inefficient. 

For  years  most  sales  managers  thought  that  the 
ideal  travelling  salesman  was  a  bluff,  hearty,  back- 
slapping,  hard-drinking,  gorgeously  apparelled  in- 
dividual, and  the  type  still  sticks  in  our  narrative 
and  dramatic  literature.  Scientific  analysis  of  the 
requirements  of  the  salesman's  function,  however, 
Jas  given  us  the  modern  salesman,  the  man  who 
xives  far  more  attention  to  building  business  than 
^o  getting  business,  and  whose  motto  is  "He  profits 
-aost  who  serves  best," 

ANALYSIS   THE   BEST  METHOD 

Edison  gave  us  the  incandescent  lamp  with  car- 
bon filament,  which  was  a  great  advance  in  artificial 
lighting  over  anything  that  had  ever  been  devised 
before.  But  scientific  analysis  of  the  requirements 


66         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

of  an  incandescent  lamp  filament  has  given  us 
the  tungsten  wire,  producing  a  far  more  brilliant 
light  of  better  quality  and  consuming  less  electric- 
ity. 

There  is  only  one  common-sense,  efficient  way  of 
filling  a  position,  just  as  there  is  only  one  common- 
sense,  efficient  way  of  determining  what  material 
is  to  be  used  in  a  given  place. 

The  man  who  selects  the  different  metals,  alloys, 
woods,  leathers,  and  other  materials  for  an  auto- 
mobile according  to  his  own  opinions  and  preju- 
dices, with  no  engineering  tests  to  determine  the 
requirements  of  each  part,  would  not  build  a  ma- 
chine in  which  you  would  care  to  trust  yourself 
going  at  high  speed. 

The  employer  who  leaves  the  selection  of  men 
and  women,  out  of  whom  he  builds  his  organiza- 
tion, to  foremen  who  guess  at  the  requirements,  or 
decide  upon  them  according  to  their  own  opinions 
or  prejudices,  does  even  worse,  because  a  piece 
of  misfit  human  material  may  do  greater  harm 
than  a  bit  of  cast-iron  where  vanadium  steel  is 
required. 

Some  employers,  realizing  the  necessity  for  more 
careful  selection,  have  standardized  to  a  certain  de- 
gree their  more  important  positions.  But  every  job 
is  important.  The  office  boy  in  affixing  stamps  on 
outgoing  mail  may  put  a  two-cent  stamp  on  a  letter 


THE  JOB  67 

to  a  customer  in  Paris.  When  that  customer  has 
to  pay  six  cents  to  get  his  letter  out  of  the  post 
office  he  is  exasperated  at  the  carelessness  of  the 
house. 

Over  and  over  in  our  commerce  and  industry  we 
have  exemplified  the  story  that  used  to  be  told  in 
verse  form  in  our  old  readers,  and  that  ended: 
"The  kingdom  was  lost,  and  all  for  the  want  of  a 
horseshoe  nail." 

FOUR    FUNDAMENTAL    REQUIREMENTS 

Determining  the  standard  requirements  for  any 
job  by  the  employment  supervisor  and  his  staff 
involves  consultation  with  heads  of  departments, 
foremen,  chiefs  of  divisions,  and  superintendents, 
with  efficiency  or  production  engineers  —  if  there 
are  any  in  the  plant  —  and  with  the  workmen 
themselves.  It  also  involves  a  careful,  painstaking 
study  of  the  most  efficient  men  doing  the  particular 
kind  of  work  in  question.  A  preliminary  rough 
analysis  of  any  job  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter. 
The  complete  analysis  requires  a  scientific  mind, 
and  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  tasks  to  be  per- 
formed. 

If  there  are  no  efficiency  or  production  engineers 
in  the  plant,  the  employment  supervisor  or  some 
member  of  his  staff  provides  himself  with  a  stop- 
watch and  learns  how  to  make  time  and  motion 


68         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

studies.  While  the  very  best  of  results  have  fol- 
lowed the  detailed  standardization  of  jobs,  so  little 
has  been  done  in  this  respect  in  the  average  plant 
that  even  the  roughest,  most  general  analysis  has 
proved  highly  profitable. 

For  example,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  work 
of  an  employment  department,  and  before  any 
detailed  analyses  of  jobs  can  be  made,  we  set  up 
four  fundamental  standard  qualifications,  without 
a  fair  degree  of  which  no  one  is  considered  for  any 
position.  These  essentials  are:  (1)  health,  (2)  in- 
telligence, (3)  honesty,  and  (4)  industry.  They 
are  indispensable. 

No  man  is  permanently  worth  even  floor  space, 
light,  and  heat,  to  say  nothing  of  wages,  unless  he 
has  health. 

Unless  a  man  is  intelligent  he  cannot  be  taught 
—  he  will  not  develop.  He  will  not  understand, 
and  therefore  cannot  follow  instructions.  Even 
in  the  lowest  kind  of  unskilled  labour  the  unintel- 
ligent man  costs  too  much  for  supervision  to  be  a 
profitable  investment,  no  matter  how  low  his 
wages. 

By  honesty  we  mean  reliability  —  general  trust- 
worthiness. A  dishonest  man  cannot  do  honest 
work.  He  may  seem  to  be  wonderfully  efficient 
in  many  ways,  but  work,  like  everything  else  a  man 
does,  is  an  expression  of  character,  and  a  man  can- 


THE  JOB  69 

not  be  dishonest  in  character  and  express  honesty 
in  his  work.  Somehow  or  other  he  will  manifest 
his  essential  nature,  and  one  crooked  act  on  his  part 
may  wipe  out  all  the  profits  possible  on  a  dozen 
years  of  his  best  service. 

It  goes  without  saying,  of  course,  that  no  matter 
how  healthy  or  brilliant  or  how  reliable  a  man  may 
be,  he  is  useless  unless  he  does  things,  unless  he 
expresses  his  powers  in  action. 

METHOD   OF   ANALYZING   JOBS 

To  make  sure  that  every  employee  has  these  four 
qualifications  is  a  long  step  in  advance  in  the  aver- 
age institution.  These  four  fundamental  qualifi- 
cations having  been  determined,  we  inquire  more 
particularly : 

Does  the  job  require  physical  or  mental  work, 
or  a  combination  of  both?  Is  it  an  executive  or 
subordinate  position?  Is  it  light  or  heavy  work? 
Does  it  require  mechanical  ability,  artistic  ability, 
commercial  ability,  financial  ability,  or  the  ability 
to  handle  people  successfully? 

Accurate  data  for  the  analysis  of  any  given  job 
is  obtained  by  careful  observation  of  the  processes 
involved,  by  questioning  those  who  are  skilled 
at  that  particular  job  and  their  immediate  super- 
iors, by  observing  the  type  of  those  who  are  most 
successful  in  the  particular  job,  by  noting  the  en- 


70         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

vironment  and  the  general  conditions  under  which 
the  job  must  be  performed. 

For  facility  in  making  these  analyses  it  is  well  to 
follow  either  a  standard  questionnaire,  so  that  no 
important  point  may  be  missed,  or  to  use  a  stan- 
dard blank,  which  when  filled  out,  may  be  placed 
on  file  for  future  reference. 

The  following  questionnaire  has  been  found 
valuable  in  a  number  of  plants: 

1.  Name  or  title  of  job  (such  as  "turret  lathe  hand")  and 

number  employed  at  this  kind  of  work? 

2.  Duties? 

3.  Nature  of  work.     Is  it  heavy  or  light,  routine  or  vari- 

able, dirty  or  clean,  wet  or  dry,  etc.? 

4.  Posture:  standing  or  sitting,  stooping,  reaching,  etc.? 

5.  Does  it  require  physical  strength  or  endurance? 

6.  What  ages  are  most  desirable? 

7.  Is  a  tall,  short,  or  medium  person  best  adapted  for  the 

work? 

8.  What  education  is  desirable  or  necessary? 

9.  What  nationality  is  desirable? 

10.  What  experience  or  training,  if  any,  is  necessary? 

11.  Time  required  to  learn? 

12.  How  taught? 

13.  Wages  to  start,  wage  average,  wage  limit? 

14.  Any  chance  for  promotion:  probable  prospects? 

15.  Just   what   other   occupations    may   these   people   be 

advanced  to? 

16.  Visible  indications  of  experience  in  this  work? 

17.  Questions  to  ask  an  applicant  in  order  to  find  out  with 


THE  JOB  71 

some  degree  of  accuracy  just  what  experience  he 
or  she  has  had  in  this  particular  line  of  work? 

18.  Are  there  any  simple  tests  quickly  and  easily  applied? 

19.  On  the  average  how  long  do  people  stay  on  this  work? 

Principal  reason  for  leaving? 

20.  What  is  the  most  objectionable  feature? 

21.  What  is  the  most  desirable  feature  of  this  work? 

22.  What  shops  in  this  vicinity  use  this  kind  of  help? 

23.  Best  method  for  obtaining  this  class  of  help? 

24.  Additional  information? 

25.  Hazardous  or  safe? 

26.  Does  it  require  speed?    Accuracy?     Patience?     Care- 

fulness?   Observation?      Agility?      Keen  eyesight? 
Judgment?    Originality?    Imitativeness? 

A  card  for  analyzing  jobs  and  filing  information 
as  to  their  requirements  is  shown  on  pages  98 
and  99.  - 

SAMPLE   ANALYSES 

The  following  standard  requirements  for  sales- 
men for  a  manufactory  form  a  basis  upon  which 
eighty-five  per  cent,  of  those  selected  have  proved 
successful. 

Age  between  22  and  27;  25  preferred.  Married  preferred. 
Five  years'  experience  desired.  This  should  have  been 
selling  an  advertised  product,  especially  where  samples 
are  carried.  Salesmen  must  carry  samples.  Men  who 
have  had  poorer  jobs  preferred.  Wholesale  salesmen  good 
prospects.  Must  not  be  too  shrewd.  Want  honourable 
substantial  men  rather  than  slick  salesmen. 


72         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

The  winning  of  friends  and  securing  favourable  attention 
almost  more  important  than  immediate  orders. 

Prefer  men  who  do  not  smoke.  Prefer  men  who  do  not 
drink.  Must  be  clean  in  all  habits. 

These  salesmen  are  classed  as  specialty  salesmen.  There 
are  two  classes,  one  handling  small  dealers,  the  other  large 
dealers. 

Salesmen  must  be  of  student  class,  because  it  is  necessary 
to  study  merchandising  conditions. 

Next  step  is  assistant  to  Block  Manager.  Salesmen  may 
reach  this  position  in  about  two  years. 

Next  step  is  that  of  Block  Manager.  Salary  based  upon  what 
territory  produces  per  year.  Three  fourths  is  paid  as  sal- 
ary; one  fourth  as  bonus. 

Next  step  is  that  of  District  Manager. 

Next  step  is  Sales  Manager. 

New  men  taken  on  are  given  two  weeks'  inside  training; 
then  put  out  on  territory  under  an  experienced  salesman 
for  about  two  weeks;  then  assigned  to  regular  territory. 

This  company  holds  annual  conventions  and  brings  all  sales- 
men to  headquarters. 

Salesmen  expected  to  make  18  to  20  calls  daily.  Six  sales 
out  of  ten  calls  considered  good  average. 

SPECIFICATION 

Colour:    Medium. 
Form :     Convex. 
Size:     5'  6"  to  5'  10". 
Weight:     140  to  160  pounds. 
Structure :    Motive — mental — vital. 
Texture:    Medium  coarse — medium. 
Consistency :    Hard-elastic. 


THE  JOB  73 

Flexibility :     Elastic ;  medium  rigid  thumb. 

Proportion:    Nose  and  chin  leading. 

Body:    Masculine.     Good  feet  and  legs. 

Head:    Medium  high;  wide  or  medium  wide;  medium  long; 

round  front  or  medium  square.     Good  balance  in  divisions 

and  sections. 

Hands:    Medium  conical  or  square. 
Fingers :    Medium  short;  smooth;  broad,  smooth,  long,  pink, 

clean,  fine-textured  nails. 
Condition  of  health:     Good.     Clear  skin.     Clean  mouth. 

Teeth  in  good  repair.    Eyes  clear  and  bright  but  not  too 

brilliant. 
Good  poise. 

Enthusiastic  but  not  extreme. 
Good  talker  but  not  voluble. 
Some  disposition  to  listen  courteously. 
Persuasive  but  not  argumentative. 
Thorough  but  not  detailed. 
Expression:     Frank,  clear,  clean  gaze. 
Ability  to  focus  attention  readily. 
Well-controlled  features,  free  from  nervous  twitchings  or 

unpleasant  mannerisms. 
Good  sense  of  humour. 
Cheerfulness  as  shown  by  upward  curves  of  mouth. 

EXPERTNESS   IN   SELECTION 

With  these  analyses  before  them,the  assistants  in 
the  employment  department  soon  become  so  ex- 
pert that  they  quickly  choose  the  best  man  for  any 
particular  job  out  of  the  available  applicants. 

In  one  employment   department   two   of   the 


74          THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

assistants  became  expert  in  teamwork,  as  exem- 
plified by  the  following  incident.  One  morning 
there  were  requisitions  from  foremen  for: 

1  Man  for  assembly  work  2  Labourers  for  casting  yard 

1  Boring  mill  hand  1  Engine  lathe  hand 

1  Carpenter  1  Milling  machine  hand 

2  Chippers  2  Bench  moulders 
1  Crane  operator  I  Patternmaker 

1  Drill  press  hand  2  Teamsters 

1  Grinder  1  Toolmaker 


Taking  the  list,  one  of  the  assistants  stepped 
out  into  the  lobby  and,  walking  quickly  through 
the  hundred  or  more  men  gathered  there,  chose 
the  men  wanted,  one  by  one, 
1  As  the  men  were  chosen  they  went  into  the  shop 
employment  office,  where  they  were  met  by  the 
other  assistant,  who  had  a  duplicate  list.  In  every 
case  the  assistant  in  the  office  knew  for  which  posi- 
tion each  man  had  been  chosen  by  his  team -mate. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SECTTRING  AND   HANDLING   APPLICANTS 

THERE  is  only  one  legitimate  reason  for 
putting  any  man  on  the  pay-roll.  That 
is  not  because  he  is  a  brother-in-law,  or 
nephew,  not  because  he  is  a  Roman  Catholic  or  a 
Protestant,  not  because  he  is  a  Scotchman  or  a 
German,  not  because  he  is  a  Mason  or  an  Elk,  not 
because  he  tells  a  hard-luck  story  or  is  an  adept 
at  flattery,  not  because  he  has  a  sheaf  of  letters  of 
recommendation,  not  even  because  he  has  made  a 
remarkable  record  in  some  other  institution. 

The  only  legitimate  reason  for  hiring  a  man  is  that 
ke  possesses  the  standard  qualifications  for  his  job,, 
and  will  be  a  good  investment  for  his  employer. 

Many  of  those  entrusted  with  the  employing  of 
help  do  not  seem  to  understand  that  the  company 
is  investing  money  in  every  applicant  from  the 
first  moment  spent  in  considering  his  application. 
They  do  not  seem  to  realize  that  the  company  must 
secure  an  adequate  return  from  its  investment  in 
order  to  do  a  profitable  business. 

We  have  seen  foremen  and  heads  of  departments 

75 


76  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
spend  "hours  and  days  of  time  interviewing  impos- 
sible applicants  whom  they  had  no  intention  of  hir- 
ing. Why  they  did  it  is  one  of  the  things  which, 
as  the  old  comic  song  used  to  say,  "cannot  be  ex- 
plained," at  least  upon  any  basis  that  gives  the  re- 
cruiting officer  credit  for  having  common  sense. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  of  conscien- 
tious employers  under  the  old  method  is  to  persuade 
foremen  and  heads  of  departments  not  to  hire  peo- 
ple simply  because  they  are  sorry  for  them. 

FITNESS   ONLY   LEGITIMATE    REASON   FOR   HIRING 

It  is  an  injustice,  not  only  to  the  employer  but  to 
the  employee,  to  give  a  man  a  job  in  which  he  can- 
not make  a  profit  for  the  house.  Even  if  the  man  is 
not  eventually  discharged,  he  is  working  under  a 
severe  handicap  if  he  is  trying  to  do  work  for  which 
he  is  not  fitted,  and  is  also  under  a  bad  psychical 
strain,  because  if  he  is  intelligent  he  must  realize 
that  he  is  to  a  certain  extent  an  object  of  charity. 
It  should  therefore  be  deeply  impressed  upon  the 
employment  supervisor  and  his  staff,  and  continu- 
ally reiterated,  that  no  person  must  be  hired  who  is 
not  a  profitable  investment.  Let  this  become  a 
guiding  axiom  of  the  department. 

With  the  requirements  of  every  department 
standardized,  and  with  this  axiom  in  mind,  the  em- 
ployment department  sets  about  its  task  of  secur- 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  77 

ing  applicants,  and  from  them  selecting  men  to  fit 
these  requirements. 

Just  as  the  wise  purchasing  agent  looks  ahead 
and  takes  steps  to  keep  a  plentiful  reserve  of  ma- 
terial and  equipment  always  on  hand,  so  the  wise 
employment  supervisor  takes  steps  to  provide 
against  the  day  of  emergencies.  It  is  just  as  waste- 
ful and  inefficient  to  take  chances  on  being  able  to 
pick  up  the  right  kind  of  employees  to  fill  vacancies 
from  day  to  day  as  it  would  be  for  a  purchasing 
agent  to  purchase  supplies  and  equipment  for  the 
factory  in  a  hand-to-mouth  fashion. 

There  are  many  ways  of  securing  applicants,  most 
of  them  good  if  used  with  discretion.  One  of  the 
rather  unexpected  advantages  of  scientific  employ- 
ment methods  has  been  the  fact  that  ambitious 
workmen  and  executives  of  unusual  ability  have  been 
attracted  to  organizations  where  employment  is 
done  scientifically.  It  is  well  known  to  observant 
employers  and  others  that  any  organization  which 
maintains  a  high  standard  of  efficiency  among  its  em- 
ployees naturally  attracts  a  high  order  of  applicants. 

Happy  and  loyal  employees,  with  the  interests  of 
their  employers  at  heart,  frequently  recommend 
candidates  for  employment  whom  they  know  to  be 
desirable.  Employment  departments  in  different 
organizations  sometimes  help  one  another  by  an 
interchange  of  applicants. 


78      THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

REQUISITION  AND  AUTHORITY  FOR  EMPLOYMENT      Blank  No.  i 


EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT: 

Please  furnUh  Division       . 

To  h<-cin  work  ,  ,       ,£fc  

[jBoy        ) 
10             Rate                          Pr 

To  replant-..  .-.  ,  — 

whowa*    (  Relewd       1     1  To  increase  force 

Specie!  Qualification*: 
i 

wfll  ttt      (   Promoted       1      f  Permanent 
3;gtt~f 

Dopt-Head 

i 

Approved  by             .    . 

Snpt 

Received         ..    -...    

Requisition  N/y 

Emp.  Devt. 


WORK  SHEET 

Reg. 
Number 

Job 

Dei>t 

Foreman 

Date 
Wanted 

Whom 
Referred 

Filled 

Cancelled 

SECURING  APPLICANTS  79 

Employment  agencies  are  sometimes  profitable 
sources  of  applicants  if  used  with  discrimination 
and  discretion.  They  are  especially  valuable  in 
securing  applicants  with  the  education  and  experi- 
ence required. 

ADVERTISING  FOR  APPLICANTS 

One  of  the  most  common  ways  of  securing  appli- 
cants is  by  advertising.  Properly  used,  this  method 
is  one  of  the  best.  But  this  involves  not  only  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  requirements,  but 
also  the  ability  to  state  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
secure  the  type  of  applicants  wanted.  An  adver- 
tising manager  of  our  acquaintance,  not  altogether 
unknown  to  the  public,  once  advertised  for  an  un- 
derstudy. His  advertisement  was  so  sensational 
and  flamboyant,  it  went  so  wide  of  the  mark  in 
describing  the  qualities  of  the  man  he  really  wanted, 
that  of  the  five  hundred  who  responded  not  one  was 
desirable  for  that  particular  job. 

Whatever  the  method  of  securing  applicants,  the 
employment  department  never  loses  sight  of  the 
fact  already  stated,  that  there  is  only  one  legitimate 
reason  for  putting  a  man  on  the  pay-roll  —  namely, 
fitness  for  the  job. 

Applications  come  into  the  employment  depart- 
ment in  two  ways :  by  mail  and  in  person. 

In  handling  applications  by  mail  the  first  move 


80          THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

is  to  weed  out  all  that  for  any  reason  are  on  the  face 
of  them  undesirable.  A  letter  may  show  that  the 
applicant  has  not  had  sufficient  training  or  experi- 
ence, that  he  is  ignorant  or  illiterate,  that  he  is  care- 
less and  disorderly,  that  he  is  vain  and  boastful, 
that  he  is  too  well  satisfied  with  himself  to  be  teach- 
able. If  undesirable  and  uneradicable  qualities 
are  easily  discernible  in  the  letter,  there  is  no  use 
wasting  any  further  time  with  the  applicant,  and 
if  he  has  applied  directly  to  the  firm,  and  not  to  a 
keyed  advertisement,  he  is  courteously  informed 
that  his  application  cannot  be  considered.  But 
should  his  application  give  reason  to  hope  that  he 
may  be  a  valuable  asset,  he  is  requested  to  send 
photographs  of  himself  and  such  other  data  as 
under  the  circumstances  seem  desirable.  If  the 
position  to  be  filled  is  an  important  one,  such 
applicants  as  are  considered  are  asked  to  describe 
themselves  as  fully  as  possible,  and  to  answer  such 
questions  as  the  employment  supervisor  may  re- 
quest. 

It  frequently  happens  that  among  those  who 
are  asked  to  send  in  more  information  about 
themselves  a  man  is  found  who  is  clearly  so  well 
fitted  for  the  position  that  he  is  engaged  for  it  by 
mail;  otherwise  the  most  promising  applicants  are 
invited  to  call  at  the  employment  department  in 
person. 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  81 

HANDLING  APPLICANTS  IN  PERSON 

In  dealing  with  all  applicants  in  person  the  em- 
ployment supervisor  and  his  staff  follow  a  definite 
procedure.  Suppose  for  the  moment  that  you  are 
an  applicant  for  a  position  in  an  organization  where 
there  is  an  employment  department  using  this 
plan.  If  it  is  the  busy  season,  you  are  quite  likely 
to  find  the  lobby  or  waiting-room  comfortably 
filled  with  applicants  waiting  to  see  the  employ- 
ment supervisor  or  his  assistants. 

When  your  turn  for  an  interview  comes  you  are 
courteously  greeted,  given  a  comfortable  chair  fac- 
ing the  interviewer,  and  made  to  feel  that  you  are  in 
the  presence  of  a  friend  who  is  just  as  desirous  of 
doing  his  best  for  you  as  for  his  employer.  You 
are  engaged  in  pleasant,  interesting  conversation 
until  you  lose  any  self -consciousness  you  may  have 
had  when  you  entered  the  office,  and  are  perfectly 
at  ease.  Then  you  are  probably  asked  for  what 
position  you  are  an  applicant,  and  the  examiner 
discusses  with  you  quietly  your  qualifications  for 
the  job.  In  due  course  of  time,  if  this  brief  survey 
seems  favourable,  you  are  asked  to  fill  out  an  ap- 
plication blank  (see  page  82) . 

During  the  time  you  are  talking  and  filling  out 
this  blank,  the  interviewer  is  quietly  and  unobtru- 
sively observing  you  and  making  mental  notes  of 
what  he  sees.  He  may  or  may  not  know  your 


82         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Blank  No.  3 

APPLICATION  FOR  EMPLOYMENT 


DATE- 


DO  NOT  WRITE 


POSITION  DESIRED. 


NAME. 


TELEPHONE- 


Date  nf  Birth.  Moatls 


Height 


Weight 


Nationality  cf  Father 


Where  I/qrn . 


Citizen 


Salary  wanted  to  start 


When  are  your  servicr*  available? 


Have  you  ever  worked  for  this  company? 


JWJhat  position  do  you  now  hold? 


Why  do  you  wish  to  leave? 


How  long  in  this  position? 


Special  training? 


What  education  have  you  had? 


JWhat  ttintl  of  work  do  you  like  best? 


In  school  which  studies  did  you  like  best? 


Which  lea*t? 


What  are  you  now  doing  to  improve  yourself? 


What  do  you  read  now? 


NAME  OF  FORMER  EMPLOYER 
(Give  Ust  employer  first) 

ADDRESS 

NATURE  OF  BUSINESS 

IMMEDIATE  SUPERIOR  OFFICER 
Nam*  and  Title 

SECURING  APPLICANTS 


83 


What  is  your  attitude  fti  regard  to  overtime? 

Do  you  make  acquaintances  easily?                                             LV>  you  like  to  be  with  people? 

Of  what  Lodge,  Society.  Association  or  organization  are  you  a  member? 

What  are  your  favorite  recreation*? 

Are  you  musicaT?                                  In  what  way? 

WHAT  POSITION  DID 
YOU  HOLD? 

WHAT  WERE  YOUR  DUTIES? 

"Eiw" 

SALARY 

LENGTH  OF  SERVICE 

REASON  FOR  LEAVING 

From 

To 

Art  you  related  to  afty  officer  or  employee  of  this  Company? 


What  church  do 


To  what  extent  do  you  use  alcohoHc  liquor? 


Did  you  serve  in  Army  or  Navy? 


When? 


Where? 


V/hAt  is  your  physical  condition? 


Have  yon  any  defects? 


What  time  have  you  lost  in  illness  in  the  last  five  years? 


Nature  of  illness 


Whom  shall  we  notify  in  case  ot  necessity? 


DO  NOT  FILL  IN  HERE 
PRO.  HD. 


H 

Wd 

Nu 

E 

Hfh 

Low 

Sk 

Vit 

Lt* 

Sbt 

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TEX. 

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fairtt^fci  ,  i. 

84         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

name.  He  does  not  know  what  you  are  writing. 
But  from  external  signs  and  indications  which  you 
cannot  conceal  he  is  learning  something  about  your 
natural  aptitudes,  about  your  character,  and  about 
the  use  you  have  made  of  the  talents  with  which 
nature  has  endowed  you.  In  making  these  notes 
he  uses  an  application  blank  with  spaces  for 
analysis. 

The  blanks  used  in  various  employment  depart- 
ments vary  somewhat,  but  the  one  shown  on  Blank 
No.  3  on  pages  82  and  83  is  a  fair  sample. 

This  blank  is  filled  out  in  cipher  so  it  is  unintelli- 
gible to  any  except  the  employment  supervisor  and 
his  staff.  In  general,  it  is  a  complete  but  concise 
statement  of  your  physical  and  mental  character- 
istics and  aptitudes,  with  perhaps  some  special 
attention  to  those  which  will  most  nearly  affect 
your  efficiency  in  the  organization  or  department 
where  you  may  possibly  be  employed. 

When  you  have  filled  the  face  of  your  application 
blank,  you  turn  it  over  to  the  interviewer,  who 
talks  with  you  about  some  of  the  questions  on  it 
(  see  page  83).  These  questions  are  so  woven  into 
the  conversation  between  you  and  your  interviewer 
that  you  do  not  have  any  feeling  of  being  grilled 
or  pumped.  Your  feeling  is  rather  that  you  are 
being  given  an  opportunity  to  state  your  qualifica- 
tions, kindly  counselled  with  regard  to  how  your 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  85 

statements  can  be  put  in  the  most  effective  form, 
and  advised  how  you  can  use  your  talents  to  your 
own  highest  advantage. 

LETTERS   AND   REFERENCES 

Perhaps  you  have  brought  letters  of  recommen- 
dation with  you.  If  so,  you  will  find  your  inter- 
viewer courteous  about  them  but  not  greatly  in- 
terested. Of  course,  you  believe  that  your  letters 
are  sincere,  and  your  former  employers  and  others 
have  written  truthfully  about  you.  But  the  ex- 
aminer knows  by  experience  that  the  less  efficient 
and  less  desirable  an  employee  is  the  more  eager 
is  the  average  employer  to  get  rid  of  him  by  giving 
him  a  hearty  letter  of  recommendation  to  some  one 
else. 

We  once  knew  a  manager  who  practically 
wrecked  one  department  of  the  business  of  a  client 
of  ours  within  the  short  space  of  three  months. 
This  manager  had  come  to  our  client  from  a  friend 
of  his  in  the  same  line  of  business,  bearing  a  most 
enthusiastic  letter  of  recommendation. 

"What  on  earth  did  you  wish  that  man  on  me 
for?  "  demanded  our  client  of  his  friend  when  he  had 
cleared  away  the  debris.  "He  did  absolutely  noth- 
ing while  he  was  with  me  but  spend  money  fool- 
ishly." 


THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


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SECURING  APPLICANTS  87 

"He  did  the  same  for  me,"  admitted  the  friend, 
with  a  grin,  "but  I  thought  maybe  you  could  con- 
trol him." 

The  finest  collection  of  letters  of  recommenda- 
tion we  ever  saw  was  in  the  hands  of  a  futile  old 
printer  who  had  been  discharged  from  every  print- 
ing house  of  any  repute  in  the  Middle  West. 

Instead  of  letters  of  recommendation  you  may 
give  your  interviewer  references,  asking  him  to 
write  to  your  former  employers,  your  banker,  your 
pastor,  and  others.  You  are  perfectly  justified  in 
making  the  offer,  since  these  inquiries,  with  a  prom- 
ise to  hold  all  correspondence  strictly  confiden- 
tial, are  very  much  in  favour  with  some  employers. 
But  your  interviewer  will  waste  no  time  or  postage 
in  sending  out  any  such  inquiries.  He  is  not  inter- 
ested in  other  people's  opinion  of  you.  He  knows 
that  the  average  employer,  even  if  he  were  to 
state  his  honest  convictions,  would  be  guided  by  his 
own  personal  feelings  and  opinions  or  purely  by 
guesswork,  and  not  by  reliable  records  of  your  per- 
formances. He  would,  therefore,  far  rather  trust 
easily  observable  and  infallibly  dependable  exter- 
nal signs  of  your  character  and  habits  than  to  take 
the  word  of  a  man  who  might  or  might  not  be  sin- 
cere, and  who,  if  he  were  sincere,  might  be  utterly 
mistaken. 

In   some  employment   departments,   especially 


88  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


Record 

of 

DATE 

FOREMAN 

DEPT. 

POSITION 

NUMBER 

KIND 
OF  WORK 

DEPORT- 
MENT 

SPECIAL 
ABILITY 

EFF. 

TOTAL 
PAY 

REMARKS 

SECURING  APPLICANTS  89 

in  the  larger  organizations,  there  is  a  special  test 
laboratory  for  applicants.  This  laboratory  is 
equipped  with  typewriter,  adding  machine,  files, 
and  other  such  appliances  for  testing  office  work- 
ers; and  planers,  dies,  drill  presses,  lathes,  and 
other  such  machines  for  testing  the  skill  of  shop 
workers. 

REQUISITION 

Your  qualifications  having  been  found  satisfac- 
tory to  the  interviewer,  he  consults  either  his  file 
of  requisitions  or  his  work  sheet. 

Requisitions  are  sent  to  the  employment  de- 
partment by  foremen  and  heads  of  departments 
when  they  need  help.  A  requisition  blank  is 
shown  in  Number  1,  page  78. 

In  some  organizations,  however,  the  number  of 
employees  required  in  a  department  is  so  large 
that  it  would  be  inexpedient  for  the  foreman  to 
fill  out  a  separate  blank  for  each  one.  In  these 
cases,  the  foreman  simply  makes  a  list  which  is 
sent  to  the  employment  department  and  entered, 
together  with  lists  from  all  other  foremen,  upon 
what  is  called  a  work  sheet,  Blank  Number  2, 
page  78.  This  work  sheet  shows  the  number  of 
new  employees  wanted  in  each  department  and  the 
particular  jobs  to  be  filled  by  them.  It  also  pro- 
vides space  for  checking  off  when  the  jobs  are 
filled  or  when  the  requisitions  are  cancelled. 


90    THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


o 
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SECURING  APPLICANTS  91 

If  the  interviewer,  therefore,  finds  from  his  re- 
quisition file  or  from  his  work  sheet  that  an  em- 
ployee having  your  qualifications  is  desired,  he 
carefully  explains  to  you  the  nature  of  the  position 
vacant,  the  rate  of  pay  offered,  the  kind  of  work 
to  be  done,  the  general  and  special  qualifications 
necessary  for  success  in  the  position,  the  hours  of 
labour,  the  rules,  regulations,  standards,  and  ideals 
under  which  you  will  perform  your  work,  and,  if 
advisable,  the  character  of  your  superior,  and  how 
best  to  please  him. 

REFERENCE  TO  DEPARTMENT  HEAD 

If,  after  this  explanation,  you  decide  to  accept 
the  position,  you  may  then  be  sent  to  the  medical 
department  for  a  physical  examination,  if  there  is 
one.  If  there  is  not,  you  are  sent  with  a  messenger, 
if  necessary,  directly  to  the  foreman  with  whom 
you  are  to  work  if  you  prove  to  be  acceptable  to 
him. 

In  either  case,  the  examiner  fills  out  Blank  No.  5, 
Reference  to  Department  Head  (see  page  90)  and 
sends  it  with  you.  As  it  is  not  the  function  of 
the  employment  department  arbitrarily  to  employ, 
you  are  sent  to  the  foreman  or  department  head 
for  mutual  acquaintance  and  approval.  If  the 
executive  finds  you  satisfactory,  he  shows  you  the 
place  where  you  are  to  work,  the  machine,  equip- 


9£      THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


BLANK  NO.    G 

Original 

NOTIFICATION 

Office 

Factory 

Store 


PAYMASTER  8  DEPARTMENT! 


fEnter  on  pay-roll 


™         )  Change  rate 
Please< 


Transfer 
(Pay  off  and  remove  from  pay-roll 


Name. 


Address 


Pnaitinn  Clock  No 

Department___ Rate 

To  Position New  Clock  No. 

To  Department New  Rate 

Effective  (Date) Hour 


Employment  Supervisor 
Date 191  _ 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  93 

ment,  appliances,  and  tools  you  are  to  use,  and  all 
the  other  physical  requirements  of  the  position 
offered  you.  In  case  this  inspection  proves  satis- 
factory to  you  and  to  the  executive,  he  notifies 
you  when  to  report  for  duty,  and  returns  the  blank, 
Reference  to  Department  Head  properly  filled  out, 
showing  when  you  are  to  begin  work,  and  it  is  filed 
as  a  permanent  part  of  your  record.  In  case 
either  you  or  the  executive  should  not  be  satis- 
fied with  the  arrangement,  he  returns  the  blank 
to  the  employment  department  as  soon  as  possible, 
stating  reasons.  If  you  elect  to  return  to  the  de- 
partment for  further  consultation,  you  may  be 
sent  to  some  other  executive — if  there  is  a  requisi- 
tion on  hand  for  some  one  of  your  aptitudes,  train- 
ing, and  character.  If  there  is  no  such  requisition, 
your  application  blank  and  analysis  are  placed 
on  file  in  the  reserve  list  and  you  are  communi- 
cated with  as  soon  as  a  requisition  fitting  your  case 
is  received  from  a  foreman  or  department  head. 

NOTIFICATION 

Let  us  suppose  that  you  are  engaged  and  begin 
work.  As  soon  as  the  employment  department 
receives  Blank  No.  5,  giving  the  rate  of  your  pay 
and  the  time  you  began  work,  Blank  No.  6,  Noti- 
fication (see  page  92),  is  filled  out  and  sent  to  the 
paymaster's  department.  You  will  observe  that 


94  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


NAME 

CLOCK 

4O 

|  APPLICATION 

HIRED 

DIPT. 

POSITION 

RCAVON 

1 

SECURING  APPLICANTS  95 

this  blank  is  so  arranged  as  to  be  used  also  in  case 
you  receive  an  increase  or  any  other  change  in 
your  rate  of  pay,  are  transferred  to  another  posi- 
tion or  department,  or,  for  any  reason,  you  resign 
or  are  discharged.  The  information  on  this  card 
is  also  noted  on  your  permanent  record  in  the  em- 
ployment department. 

FOLDER 

When  once  you  have  become  an  employee  of  the 
institution  a  folder  (see  page  94)  is  filled  out  for 
you  and  placed  in  the  Employees'  File.  In  this 
folder  are  included  all  correspondence  with  you,  all 
the  blanks  filled  out  with  reference  to  your  employ- 
ment, and  other  memoranda  of  any  kind  that  may 
be  of  value.  In  this  folder,  among  other  documents 
is  the  Analysis  Blank  (see  bottom  part  of  page  83) 
filled  out  by  the  interviewer  at  the  time  of  your 
original  application. 

RECORD 

On  the  reverse  of  this  blank  is  space  for  your 
record  in  the  organization  (see  page  88).  On  this 
record,  at  stated  times,  according  to  the  character 
of  the  business  and  the  position  you  occupy,  are 
entered  data,  giving  essential  information  as  to 
your  efficiency  and  progress.  How  your  efficiency 
will  be  calculated  will  depend  upon  the  practice  of 
the  firm  and  the  work  you  are  doing.  If  a  bonus 


96         (THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


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SECURING  APPLICANTS  97 

system  is  in  operation,  your  efficiency  will  be  re- 
ported in  percentages.  If  you  are  a  salesman,  your 
efficiency  will  be  calculated  in  terms  of  sales,  prof- 
its, collections,  etc. 

REPORT   ON    EMPLOYEE 

Partly  for  the  sake  of  keeping  this  record  of  your 
performance  and  partly  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
check  upon  foremen  or  department  heads,  Blank 
No.  7,  Report  on  Employee  (see  page  96),  is 
used.  This  blank  is  filled  out  by  the  foreman  and 
sent  to  the  employment  department  whenever  he 
desires  to  change  your  rate  of  pay,  promote  you 
or  change  your  position  in  his  department,  transfer 
you  to  another  department,  accept  your  resigna- 
tion, or  end  your  service  with  him.  The  employ- 
ment supervisor  may  call  for  such  a  report  at  any 
time,  but,  as  already  intimated,  he  does  not  rely 
wholly  upon  it  in  keeping  the  record  shown  on  page 
88.  The  data  entered  in  this  record  are  obtained 
by  different  methods,  according  to  the  character  of 
the  business  and  the  system  of  rating  employees  in 
use. 

This  Report  on  Employee  has  been  found  to  be 
of  great  value  indirectly.  When  an  executive  is 
called  upon  to  fill  out  such  a  report  in  connection 
with  every  change  he  desires  to  make  in  his  depart- 
ment, and  to  state  in  definite  terms  his  reasons  for 


98         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 


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SECURING  APPLICANTS 


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100         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

making  the  change,  he  uses  more  judgment  and 
common  sense  and  is  less  impulsive.  Oftentimes 
foremen  and  other  executives  are  either  lazy,  indif- 
ferent, or  contemptuous,  and  therefore  flippant  in 
filling  out  these  reports.  A  little  experience,  how- 
ever, soon  changes  their  mental  attitude. 

Every  time  the  employment  department  is  called 
upon  to  deal  with  you  in  any  important  matter, 
your  folder,  with  all  its  contents,  is  taken  out  of  file 
and  placed  before  the  person  who  is  handling  the 
case.  As  you  have  seen,  it  contains,  in  compact 
form,  all  of  the  information  in  the  hands  of  the  de- 
partment with  reference  to  you  and  your  relation- 
ship with  the  organization.  Not  only  this,  but  in 
the  folder  is  your  analysis,  made  by  some  member 
of  the  department,  and  on  the  back  of  it  your  sub- 
sequent record.  Here  is  an  effective  check  upon  the 
accuracy  and  reliability  of  analyses  made  in  the 
department. 

THE   SPIRIT,    NOT    THE    FORM,    OF    THE   PLAN 
IMPORTANT 

The  blanks  reproduced  here  are  those  used  in  a 
factory  with  several  thousand  employees.  They 
are  intended  to  be  elastic  enough  in  every  respect 
to  cover  the  handling  of  applicants  and  employees 
from  the  highest  grade  to  the  lowest.  Their  use, 
therefore,  is  not  subject  to  rigid  and  ironclad  rules, 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  101 

but  to  the  common  sense  and  good  judgment  of 
those  who  use  them. 

For  example,  in  the  use  of  Blank  No.  3,  Appli- 
cation, no  intelligent  interviewer  would  expect  an 
ignorant  man,  perhaps  unable  to  read,  write,  or 
speak  the  English  language,  applying  for  a  tempo- 
rary job  as  shoveller  in  the  yard  gang,  to  fill  out  all 
or  even  any  of  the  spaces.  Nor  would  there  be 
any  very  extensive  use  of  the  Analysis  part, 
in  such  a  case.  Necessarily,  there  are  certain 
minor  changes  in  detail  in  these  blanks  when  they 
are  used  in  other  concerns.  These  changes  will 
depend  upon  the  character  of  the  business,  the 
policies  and  standards  adopted  by  the  manage- 
ment, and  other  considerations.  The  details 
are  relatively  unimportant.  The  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  plan  are  all-important.  The 
higher  the  position  to  be  filled,  the  more  numerous 
and  the  more  specific  are  the  requirements,  and 
the  more  completely  and  carefully  are  all  of  these 
blanks  filled  out. 

RECORDS 

If  the  employment  department  is  to  conduct  its 
own  affairs  intelligently,  and  if  it  is  going  to  furnish 
to  the  management  information  of  value  regarding 
the  employment  situation  in  the  organization,  it  is 
important  that  a  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  and 


102        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

annual   record   of  all  activities   should   be  kept. 
Information  from  this  record  should  be  classified, 
analyzed,  and  presented  to  those  interested  in  the 
most  concise  and  vivid  form  possible. 
This  record  should  show  the  following: 

Number  of  applicants  in  person; 

Number  of  applicants  by  mail; 

Number  interviewed; 

Number  of  requisitions  received; 

Number  of  requisitions  filled; 

Number  of  requisitions  received  from  each  department  in 
the  organization; 

Number  of  requisitions  filled  for  each  department  in  the 
organization; 

Number  of  transfers  from  each  department; 

Number  of  transfers  to  each  department; 

Number  of  employees  leaving  each  department  of  their 
own  accord; 

Number  of  employees  discharged  from  each  department; 

Average  number  of  employees  at  work  in  each  department; 

Number  of  employees  tardy  or  absent; 

Number  of  employees  leaving; 

Number  of  employees  added  to  the  payroll  for  each  de- 
partment. 

In  case  the  records  should  show  that  the  number 
of  those  leaving  the  organization  or  any  depart- 
ment in  it  is  large,  a  classified  record  is  kept  showing 
all  reasons  for  leaving  or  for  being  discharged,  and 
the  number  of  those  leaving  or  discharged  for  each 
reason.  The  record  also  shows  the  classes  of  those 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  103 

who  leave  or  who  are  discharged;  for  example,  num- 
ber of  men,  of  women,  number  of  married  men, 
number  of  single  men,  number  of  men  below  21, 
number  of  men  older  than  21,  number  of  men  living 
in  their  own  homes  or  with  their  parents,  number 
of  men  living  in  boarding  houses  or  hotels,  number 
of  American  born,  number  of  foreign  born  of  each 
alien  nationality.  If  conditions  seem  to  warrant 
it,  these  records  also  show  seasonal  averages, 
averages  influenced  by  weather  conditions,  business 
conditions,  or  any  other  factors  which  may  be 
affecting  the  rate  of  labour  turnover. 

A  record  of  this  kind  helps  to  locate  the  main 
causes  for  labour  turnover,  whether  they  inhere  in 
conditions  in  the  factory,  in  living  conditions,  or 
in  the  class  of  people  employed.  They  also  show 
in  what  department  the  highest  turnover  is  and 
the  reason  for  it,  so  that  conditions  may  be  remedied 
if  possible. 

REPORTS   TO   MANAGEMENT 

Periodical  and  regular  reports  are  made  to  the 
management  of  the  activities  of  the  employment 
department.  In  some  cases,  these  are  made  daily; 
in  others,  weekly,  and  in  still  others,  monthly. 
As  a  general  rule,  they  are  not  any  longer  time  apart 
than  the  regular  pay  period.  Summaries  of  these 
reports  are,  of  course,  sent  monthly,  quarterly, 


104         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

and  annually.  Graphs  and  charts  of  various 
kinds  are  used  to  make  plain  the  tendencies  of  the 
organization.  These  not  only  give  the  employ- 
ment supervisor  a  clear  idea  of  what  he  and  his 
department  are  accomplishing,  but  also  form  the 
basis  for  strong  representation  to  the  manage- 
ment when  promotion,  wages,  working  conditions, 
hours,  and  other  factors  will  favourably  affect  the 
labour  turnover. 

In  order  that  the  reason  and  use  of  these  blanks 
may  be  clearly  understood,  we  summarize: 

SUMMARY  OF  BLANKS 

Blank  No.  1,  Requisition  (see  page  78),  is  an 
order  upon  the  employment  department  by  some 
executive  in  the  organization  for  an  employee  to 
fill  a  certain  position. 

Blank  No.  2,  Work  Sheet,  (see  page  78)  is  a 
blank  for  the  assembling  and  classification  of  re- 
quisitions for  use  of  the  employment  supervisor  or 
interviewer. 

Blank  No.  3,  Application  for  Employment  (see 
page  82),  is  an  application  for  position  with  spaces 
for  the  voluntary  giving  of  certain  information  by 
the  applicant.  The  second  page  of  this  blank  (see 
page  83)  gives  the  interviewer  suggestions  for  the 
examination  of  the  applicant. 


SECURING  APPLICANTS  105 

Blank  No.  4,  Application  for  Employment 
(see  page  86)  is  a  shorter,  simpler  application 
blank  in  use  in  some  employment  departments. 

Blank  No.  5,  Reference  to  Department  Head  (see 
page  90)  serves  a  double  purpose.  It  is  a  letter  of  in- 
troduction presenting  an  applicant  accepted  by  the 
employment  department  to  the  superior  executive 
to  whom  he  is  recommended  for  employment.  It 
also  serves  to  carry  the  report  of  the  executive  upon 
the  result  of  the  applicant's  call. 

Blank  No.  6,  Notification  (see  page  92),  notifies 
the  paymaster's  department  of  the  hiring  of  a  new 
employee  or  any  change  in  rate,  transfer,  promo- 
tion, or  removal  of  an  employee. 

Blank  No.  7,  Report  on  Employee  (see  page  96), 
serves  several  purposes :  gives  an  executive's  report 
upon  an  employee;  recommends  an  increase  in  pay, 
promotion,  transfer,  or  removal  of  an  employee; 
gives  reason  for  such  action,  and  definitely  closes 
the  relations  of  the  employee  with  the  institution's 
tool,  stock,  or  supply  department;  also  serves  as  a 
check  upon  doings  of  executives. 

Blank  No.  8,  Job  Analysis  (see  page  98).  This  is 
a  card  for  recording  and  filing  away  for  reference 
data  giving  all  essential  requirements  of  any 
job. 

In  a  very  small  organization  not  all  of  these 
blanks  are  necessary.  In  a  very  large  organization 


106        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

where  there  are  many  complications  of  relationship 
with  employees,  perhaps  other  blanks  may  be 
needed. 

"The  letter  killeth;  the  spirit  maketh  alive." 


CHAPTER  VII 

ANALYZING  THE  MAN 
HEREDITY  AND  ENVIRONMENT 

WHEN  a  man  suffers  from  tonsillitis  he  has 
an  infection  and  inflammation  of  a  part  of 
the  throat  whose  reason  for  existence  was 
until  recently  a  mystery.  He  can  derive  a  certain 
amount  of  interest,  if  not  consolation,  from  the 
fact  that  he  inherited  his  troublesome  tonsils  from 
remote  ancestors.  Ages  ago  his  forebears  swam 
in  the  warm,  salt  waters  of  the  young  earth.  Nat- 
urally, they  were  equipped  with  gills.  These  old 
worthies  transmitted  their  gills  to  him,  but  in  being 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  the 
legacy  has  been  so  modified  by  conditions  that 
all  he  has  left  of  it  are  his  ears,  Eustachian  tubes, 
and  these  inflammable  tonsils.  This  same  man, 
when  a  schoolboy,  probably  braved  drowning  and 
suffered  many  a  whipping  because  of  his  love  for 
the  old  swimming  hole.  Perhaps  this  trait  of  his 
character  was  also  an  inheritance  from  his  remote 
aquatic  ancestors. 

The  researches  of  science  into  the  evolution  of 

107 


108        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

man  —  and  of  each  part  and  organ  of  his  body  — 
have  resulted  in  a  far  better  understanding  of  his 
anatomy  and  physiology.  In  a  similar  way,  a 
study  of  the  evolution  of  the  human  mind  and  its 
activities  has  given  us  a  far  better  understanding 
than  ever  before  of  human  psychology. 

Just  as  the  tonsils,  the  Eustachian  tubes,  and  the 
ears  in  present-day  man  are  relics  of  gills,  so  there 
are  in  every  other  part  of  the  body  interesting  and 
significant  relics  of  other  stages  in  the  evolution 
of  the  race.  Just  as  the  passion  of  the  average 
small  boy  for  the  water  is  perhaps  an  inheritance 
from  ancestors  whose  home  was  in  the  sea,  so  in- 
numerable other  traits  in  human  beings  as  we 
know  them  to-day  are  inheritances  from  ancestors 
of  cruder  forms. 

According  to  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fit- 
test, individuals  having  physical  and  mental  traits 
enabling  them  to  live  with  the  greatest  degree  of 
adaptation  to  their  environment,  tend  to  survive 
longest,  and  therefore  to  reproduce  themselves  in 
the  largest  number  of  offspring  inheriting  these 
same  physical  and  mental  traits. 

EVOLUTION    OF    PHYSICAL    AND    PSYCHICAL    TRAITS 

The  prehistoric  antelope,  whose  ears  could  de- 
tect the  slightest  movement  in  the  underbrush, 
heard  the  tiger  crouching  for  a  spring  and  fled, 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  109 

He  became  the  parent  of  offspring  who  inherited 
his  excellent  hearing.  The  antelope  whose  hearing 
was  duller  failed  to  hear  the  approach  of  his  enemy, 
and  perished  before  mating.  Thus  was  evolved 
the  keenly  sensitive  hearing  of  the  antelope. 

Since  these  same  selective  processes  operated 
in  the  evolution  of  man,  it  has  come  about  that 
every  bone,  every  muscle,  every  nerve,  every  fea- 
ture of  the  body,  as  well  as  the  general  physical 
conformation,  colour,  texture,  and  consistency,  are 
the  result  of  this  ages-long  process  of  selection  and 
survival. 

This  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  applies  also 
to  the  survival  of  mental  and  physical  traits.  For 
example,  in  a  certain  environment  that  individual 
who  had  the  greatest  courage  would  survive  and 
reproduce  courageous  offspring.  In  another  en- 
vironment that  individual  who  had  the  greatest 
caution  would  survive  and  transmit  his  cautious 
soul  to  his  posterity.  And  so  each  of  our  intel- 
lectual and  emotional  characteristics  is  the  result 
of  this  same  process  of  variation,  selection,  and  sur- 
vival, covering  a  period  of  unknown  ages. 

In  short,  there  is  no  aptitude,  trait,  or  character- 
istic in  man  which  is  accidental.  The  size,  shape, 
proportion,  colour,  texture,  consistency,  and  condi- 
tion of  every  part,  every  organ,  every  feature  of  his 
body,  as  well  as  every  little  twist  and  turn  of  his 


110        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

mental  abilities,  his  morals,  and  his  disposition,  are 
the  result  of  heredity  and  environment  of  his  an- 
cestors extending  back  into  antiquity  for  uncounted 
ages,  plus  his  own  environment  and  experiences. 
The  significant  truth  in  this  is  that  both  physical 
and  psychical  natures  of  man  are  the  result  of  this 
process  of  evolution,  and  that  the  evolution  of  one 
has  been  coincident  and  synchronous  with  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  other. 

-  MUTUAL  AND  RECIPROCAL  INFLUENCE  OF  BODY 
AND  MIND 

A  few  other  facts,  taken  in  connection  with  this 
one,  are  also  important.  The  intimate  relation 
between  thought  and  feeling  and  the  body  is  well 
known  to  every  one  who  has  given  his  own  experi- 
ences a  moment's  consideration.  From  the  stand- 
point of  science  this  relationship  is  so  marked  that 
there  are  many  careful  investigators  who  hold  to 
the  theory  that  both  thought  and  feeling  are  merely 
physical  states  and  activities.  Whether  we  ac- 
cept this  extreme  view  or  not,  we  must  agree  with 
the  more  moderate  statement  that  every  mental 
and  psychical  state  and  activity  is  accompanied 
by  its  particular  physical  reaction. 

Prof.  George  Trumbull  Ladd,  of  Yale,  says:  "All 
facts  too  obviously  impress  upon  us  the  conclusion, 
how  pervasive,  intimate,  varied,  and  profound  are 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  111 

the  mutual  relations  —  the  correlations  —  of  the 
physical  mechanism  and  the  phenomena  of  con- 
sciousness."* 

This  is  especially  true  of  the  emotions.  So 
marked  are  the  physical  accompaniments  of  emo- 
tion that  many  different  forms  of  emotion  can  be 
either  induced,  aggravated,  or  subdued  by  volun- 
tary production  or  inhibition  of  their  accompanying 
physical  states  and  activities.  Says  Prof.  William 
James:  "The  general  causes  of  the  emotions  are 
indubitably  physiological. "f 

We  therefore  have  the  physical  and  the  mental 
and  psychical  evolution  of  man  not  only  progress- 
ing hand  in  hand  over  many  centuries,  but  pro- 
foundly affecting  each  other  every  step  of  the  way. 
Every  thought  has  its  accompanying  vibration  in 
the  brain  cells.  Every  emotion,  however  faint 
and  transient,  has  its  expression  in  some  kind  of 
muscular  action  and  organic  reaction.  Prevailing 
modes  and  directions  of  thought  have  given  per- 
manent arrangement  and  development  to  the  brain 
cells  and  to  other  parts  of  the  body.  Prevailing 
states  of  emotion  have  actually  built  up  or  torn 
down  certain  parts  of  the  body,  and  have  given 
permanent  form  and  expression  to  other  parts. 
Certain  thoughts  and  feelings  have  operated  to 

*Elements  of  Physiological  Physiology,  page  582, 
fThe  Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  II.  page  448. 


112        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

take  men  into  certain  kinds  of  environment.  These 
different  kinds  of  environment,  in  their  turn,  have 
left  their  indelible  marks  upon  the  body,  the  minds, 
and  hearts  of  all  who  dwelt  and  worked  in  their 
midst.  For  example,  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
weariness  with  routine,  of  aggressiveness  and  cour- 
age, of  longing  for  new  scenes,  new  achievements, 
have  in  all  the  ages  driven  both  animals  and  men 
into  the  frontiers  of  their  habitable  worlds.  Fur- 
thermore, frontier  life,  with  its  activities,  its  hard- 
ships, its  perils,  its  peculiar  forms  of  nourishment, 
clothing,  and  shelter,  has  had  its  effect  not  only 
upon  the  mental  and  psychical  characteristics  of 
animals  and  men,  but  upon  their  physical  structure 
and  appearance. 

THEORY   OF   PSYCHOPHYSICAL   CORRESPONDENCE 

On  the  other  hand,  feelings  of  prudence,  love  of 
routine,  established  customs,  attachment  to  famil- 
iar scenes  and  familiar  faces,  love  of  ease,  love  of 
comfort,  certainty  of  nourishment  and  shelter  no 
matter  how  meagre,  have  influenced  both  animals 
and  men  to  remain  in  the  serene,  protected,  salu- 
brious, mild  environment  of  the  cradles  of  life. 
In  turn,  this  environment  has  reacted  upon  them 
and  has  left  the  indelible  traces  of  its  influence  not 
only  upon  their  characters  but  upon  their  bodies. 
Many  other  examples  of  similar  import  might  be 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  113 

cited  in  support  of  the  theory  that  there  is  a  constant 
correspondence  between  the  mental  and  psychical 
characteristics  of  any  individual  and  his  physical 
characteristics. 

This  theory  is  stated  by  Prof.  J.  Mark  Bald- 
win in  "Development  and  Evolution,"  pages  25, 
26,  29,  as  follows:  "Furthermore,  we  may  say 
that  no  physical  character  which  has  mental 
correlations  is  completely  understood  until  these 
latter  are  exhaustively  determined,  and  also  that 
no  mental  character  escapes  physical  correlation. 
Recent  research  in  the  psychological  and  phys- 
iological laboratories  is  establishing  many  such 
psychophysical  correlations:  that  of  emotion  with 
motor  processes;  of  attention,  rhythm,  and  the 
time  sense  with  vasomotor  changes;  that  of  mental 
work  with  nervous  fatigue,  etc.,  through  all  the 
main  problems  of  this  department.  All  this  af- 
fords, in  so  far,  at  once  illustration  and  proof  of 
the  general  formula  of  psychophysical  parallelism. 
.  .  .  It  has  been  the  psychophysical,  not  the 
physical  alone  nor  the  mental  alone,  which  has  been 
the  unit  of  selection  in  the  main  trend  of  evolution, 
and  Nature  has  done  what  we  are  now  urging  the 
science  of  evolution  to  do  —  she  has  carried  for- 
ward the  two  series  together,  thus  producing  a 
single  genetic  movement.  .  .  .  The  fact  of 
correlated  variation,  moreover,  is  to  be  carried 


114        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

over  to  the  relation  between  organic  and  mental 
variations  in  different  individuals.  Many  instances 
are  known  which  prove  it;  that  they  are  not  more 
numerous  is  due,  I  think,  to  the  neglect  of  recogni 
tion  of  it  in  seeking  genetic  explanations."  This 
theory  is  now  almost  universally  accepted  by 
scientists,  but  in  many  different  modifications,  with 
reference  to  its  form  and  extent. 

EARLY  ATTEMPTS  AT  CHARACTER  INTERPRETATION 

Thinkers  and  investigators  of  very  early  times 
either  assumed  or  suspected  the  truth  of  psycho- 
physical  correspondence.  It  was  because  of  this 
assumption  or  belief  in  the  correspondence  be- 
tween character  and  physical  appearance  that  men 
began  to  try  to  read  the  character  of  their  fellows 
in  their  faces,  heads,  hands,  and  bodies  generally, 
from  the  earliest  times  known  to  history.  That 
one 's  occupation  stamps  its  impress  on  the  outward 
expression  was  observed  and  recorded  by  an  Egyp- 
tian scribe  of  the  twelfth  dynasty,  about  2600  B.  C. 
This  papyrus  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  Aris- 
totle was  a  devoted  student  of  physiognomy  and 
compared  the  features  and  dispositions  of  men  and 
animals  350  B.  C.  Hippocrates,  known  as  the 
Father  of  Medicine,  460  B.  C.,  refers  to  the  influ- 
ence of  environment  in  determining  disposition,  and 
of  the  reaction  of  these  on  the  features.  Classic 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  115 

literature  from  Homer  down  to  the  present  time  is 
full  of  expressions  indicating  at  least  a  partial  ac- 
ceptance of  this  theory. 

The  high  brows  and  lean  cheeks  of  the  thinker 
and  scholar;  the  high,  large  nose  of  courage  and  ag- 
gressiveness; the  thick  neck  and  fleshy  lips  of  sen- 
suality; the  thin  lips  and  cold  eye  of  cruelty;  the 
round  face  and  full  figure  of  good  nature;  the  dark 
eyes,  hair,  and  skin  of  revenge;  the  keen,  sharp 
face  of  the  scold;  and  the  broad,  flat  face  of  phleg- 
matism are  as  familiar  in  literature  as  they  are  in 
everyday  life. 

SIFTING    THE    EVIDENCE VERIFYING    TRUTH 

Ever  since  these  early  days  there  have  been  at- 
tempts at  character  reading.  Many  different  ave- 
nues of  approach  to  the  subject  have  been  opened 
up:  some  by  sincere  and  earnest  men  of  scientific 
minds  and  scholarly  attainments;  some  by  sincere 
and  earnest  but  unscientific  laymen;  and  some  by 
mountebanks  and  charlatans.  As  the  result  of  all 
this  study,  research,  and  empiricism,  a  great  mass 
of  alleged  facts  about  physical  characteristics  in 
man  and  their  corresponding  mental  and  psychical 
characteristics  has  accumulated.  When  we  began 
our  research  more  than  fifteen  years  ago,  we  found 
a  very  considerable  library  covering  every  phase 
of  character  interDretation,  both  scientific  and  un- 


116        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

scientific.  A  great  deal  has  been  added  since  that 
time.  Much  of  this  literature  is  pseudo-scientific, 
and  some  of  it  is  pure  quackery.  But  careful  and 
detailed  observations  upon  more  than  12,000  in- 
dividuals, with  the  use  of  exact  measurements  and 
uniform  records,  have  demonstrated  conclusively 
that  many  of  the  conclusions  of  early  workers  in 
this  difficult  field  are  substantially  correct.  This 
investigation  has  established  many  other  definite 
psychophysical  correspondences.  All  of  these  cor- 
respondences, still  further  verified  by  observations 
in  groups  upon  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
individuals  in  the  United  States  and  eighteen 
foreign  countries,  correlated,  classified,  and  reduced 
to  a  comparatively  few  laws,  form  a  scientific  basis 
for  the  analysis  of  men  to  determine  their  fitness 
for  their  work  and  environment. 

In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  this  science  of 
character  analysis  by  the  observational  method 
cannot  be  a  science  in  the  same  sense  in  which  chem- 
istry and  mathematics  are  sciences.  So  far  our 
studies  and  experiences  do  not  lead  us  to  expect 
that  it  ever  can  become  absolute  and  exact.  Hu- 
man nature  is  complicated  by  too  many  variables 
and  obscured  by  too  much  that  is  elusive  and  in- 
tangible. We  cannot  put  a  man  on  the  scales  and 
determine  that  he  has  so  many  milligrams  of  com- 
mon sense  or  apply  the  micrometer  to  him  and 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  117 

say  that  he  has  so  many  millimetres  of  financial 
ability.  Human  traits  and  human  values  are 
relative  and  can  be  determined  and  stated  only 
relatively. 

On  the  other  hand,  inasmuch  as  it  is  organized 
and  classified  knowledge,  the  system  of  character 
analysis  upon  which  judgment  of  the  man  in  our 
employment  plan  is  based  is  entitled  to  be  called  a 
science.  It  is  a  science  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
horticulture,  agriculture,  etc.,  are  sciences.  While 
the  knowledge  upon  which  it  is  based  can  never  be 
mathematically  exact,  it  is  fundamentally  sound 
from  the  standpoint  of  evolution,  heredity,  environ- 
ment, biology,  physiology,  and  psychology,  and 
has  been  verified  by  thousands  ef  careful  observa- 
tions. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ANALYZING    THE   MAN 
NINE  FUNDAMENTAL  PHYSICAL  VARIABLES 

IF  THERE  were  an  absolutely  reliable  method 
of  interpreting  human  character  by  the  lines 
on  the  palms  of  a  man 's  hands,  or  the  bumps 
under  the  hair  of  his  head,  it  would  be  of  compara- 
tively little  value  in  the  ordinary  interests  and  ac- 
tivities of  life.  If  by  elaborate  tests,  with  special 
instruments,  one  could  learn  all  about  the  aptitudes 
and  character  of  a  willing  subject,  the  method 
would  be  almost  as  valueless  for  practical  use.  We 
meet  and  deal  with  people  under  conditions  which 
would  make  it  impossible  either  to  examine  the 
palms  of  their  hands  or  the  bumps  on  their  heads  or 
to  subject  them  to  psychological  tests.  The  most 
important  relationships  with  other  people  oftentimes 
occur  when  one  must  observe  them  at  a  distance, 
and  perhaps  for  but  a  few  moments,  when  they  are 
wearing  hats  and  gloves,  when  perhaps  the  light 
may  be  poor,  and  under  other  conditions  which 
will  enable  one  to  make  only  the  most  general  ob- 
servations. It  therefore  becomes  necessary  in 

118 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN 

analyzing  the  man  to  enumerate  and  classify  the 
most  easily  observable  of  his  physical  character- 
istics, which  give  a  key  to  his  physical,  mental,  and 
psychical  aptitudes  and  character. 

VARIABLES  DEFINED 

All  normal  men  are  alike  in  most  of  their  physical 
characteristics.  They  have  the  same  number  of 
bones  and  muscles,  parts  and  organs;  the  same 
number  and  general  arrangement  of  features. 
They  differ  from  one  another  in  other  ways.  One 
man  is  light;  another  is  dark.  One  man  is  tall; 
another  is  short.  One  man  is  sharp-featured;  an- 
other is  broad-,  flat-faced.  One  man  is  coarse, 
heavy,  and  crude;  another  delicate  and  refined. 
Colour,  size,  form,  and  texture  are  some  of  the 
physical  attributes  in  which  men  differ  or  vary  from 
one  another.  We  may  therefore  call  these  attributes 
variables.  It  is  in  these  physical  variables  and  the 
variations  in  character  which  accompany  them  that 
we  find  a  scientific  basis  for  analyzing  the  man. 

In  the  study  of  these  variables,  research  and  in- 
vestigation are  undertaken  to  find  answers  to  such 
questions  as  these,  for  example:  Why  do  men 
vary  in  colour?  What  are  the  hereditary  and  en- 
vironmental causes  of  their  variation?  Would 
these  same  causes  and  others  associated  with  them 
produce  any  variation  in  other  physical  attributes, 


120        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

and  in  mental  and  psychical  characteristics?  What 
would  these  variations  be?  In  studying  men  of 
different  colour,  do  we  actually  find  such  variations 
in  character?  In  the  same  way,  analysis  is  made 
of  the  causes  of  other  variations,  and  the  effects  of 
these  causes  upon  character. 

After  a  great  deal  of  study  and  experimentation 
we  finally  determined  upon  nine  physical  variables 
as  fundamentals,  and  as  affording  ample  data  for 
the  analysis  of  human  character  in  employment 
work.  These  are:  (1)  Colour,  (2)  Form,  (3)  Size, 
(4)  Structure,  (5)  Texture,  (6)  Consistency,  (7) 
Proportion,  (8)  Expression,  (9)  Condition. 

It  is  not  only  impossible  to  present  completely 
and  in  detail  in  a  work  of  this  nature  the  entire 
science  of  character  analysis  by  the  observational 
method,  but  instruction  in  this  science  is  not  the 
function  of  the  present  volume.  A  brief  consider- 
ation of  underlying  principles,  methods  of  applica- 
tion, and  the  usefulness  of  the  science  in  employ- 
ment .work  will,  however,  not  be  amiss.  We  shall 
therefore  treat  each  of  these  nine  fundamental  vari- 
ables, showing  our  method  of  approach  and,  in  a 
brief  outline,  what  their  variations  in  the  individual 
reveal.  In  our  discussion  of  colour  and  form  we 
enter  at  some  length  into  the  evolutionary  causes 
of  both  physical  and  psychical  variations.  The 
other  variables  are  treated  more  briefly. 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  121 

COLOUR 

In  the  paintings  and  pottery  of  ancient  Egypt, 
Greece,  Rome,  and  Spain,  divinity,  royalty,  nobil- 
ity, and  aristocracy  are  represented  by  white  skin, 
blue  eyes,  and  flaxen  hair.  Until  very  recently, 
most  dolls  had  blue  eyes  and  yellow  hair,  even  in 
countries  where  their  little  mothers  were  as  brown 
as  berries.  There  are  other  interesting  and  signifi- 
cant evidences  of  an  age-old  feeling,  amounting 
almost  to  instinct,  that  there  are  differences  in 
character  between  blonds  and  brunettes  as  marked 
as  their  differences  in  colour.  There  is  no  variable 
among  human  beings  so  striking  as  that  of  colour, 
none  so  easily  observable,  and  none  which  has  made 
so  strong  an  appeal  to  scientific  investigators  as 
well  as  to  popular  imagination. 

An  inquiry  into  the  biological  causes  of  variations 
in  human  colour,  into  the  mental  and  psychical 
causes  accompanying  these,  and  into  the  historical 
and  prehistorical  causes  of  the  attitude  toward 
blonds  revealed  in  art,  in  literature,  in  the  drama, 
and  in  popular  speech,  will  aid  us  in  understanding 
the  many  differences  between  blonds  and  brunettes. 

PIGMENTATION 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  differences  in  colour 
among  human  beings  is  the  relative  amount  of 
pigmentation  in  hair?  skin,  iris,  and  retina.  Scien- 


122       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

lists  have  long  been  at  work  striving  to  discover 
the  cause  of  pigmentation,  and  especially  the  cause 
for  variation  in  the  amount  of  pigmentation.  In 
general,  it  is  well  known  that  dark  or  heavily  pig- 
mented  races  inhabit  the  tropics,  and  that  lighter 
or  less  pigmented  races  inhabit  the  temperate  and 
north  temperate  zones. 

For  a  long  time  scientists  have  worked  upon  a 
theory  that  heavy  pigmentation,  resulting  in  dark 
colour,  helped  the  inhabitants  of  hot  countries  to 
keep  cool.  This  was  because  of  the  known  fact 
that  dark  bodies  radiate  heat  more  rapidly  than 
light  bodies.  Of  two  pieces  of  iron  of  the  same 
size  and  shape,  one  black  and  the  other  painted 
white,  and  both  heated  to  the  same  temperature, 
the  black  one  will  cool  off  much  more  quickly  than 
the  white  one.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the 
law  of  radiation.  A  difficulty  was  met,  however, 
when  the  law  of  absorption  was  taken  into  con- 
sideration. According  to  this  law,  dark  bodies 
absorb  heat  from  sources  of  higher  temperature 
than  themselves  much  more  readily  than  light 
ones.  If  a  black  iron  and  a  white  iron  are  both 
placed  upon  the  same  stove,  the  black  one  will 
heat  up  much  more  quickly  than  the  white  one.  It 
is  probable  that  both  of  these  laws  have  some  effect 
in  determining  the  evolution  of  colour.  It  is  well 
known  that  black  people  in  the  tropics  keep  in  the 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  ,  123 

shade  as  much  as  possible,  and  are  very  largely 
nocturnal  in  their  habits.  Comparatively  few  are 
seen  abroad  or  at  work  during  the  hours  just  before, 
or  just  after,  noon.  Keeping  in  the  darkness  and 
shade,  they  make  the  most  of  their  natural  ability 
to  radiate  heat.  By  avoiding  as  far  as  possible 
exposing  themselves  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun, 
they  absorb  heat  as  little  as  possible.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  lighter  coloured  races  in  the  cold 
North  could  not  absorb  much  even  if  they  were 
black,  and  their  slower  rate  of  radiation  enables 
them  to  conserve  better  the  natural  heat  of  their 
bodies. 

Negroes  find  great  difficulty  in  keeping  warm  in 
cold  climates.  They  require  more  clothing  in  cold 
weather  than  whites;  prefer  to  keep  indoors,  and 
keep  their  quarters  so  hot  that  they  seem  stifling 
to  white  people.  But  the  theory  that  the  laws  of  ra- 
diation and  absorption  explain  everything  about  pig- 
mentation, and  that  man 's  colour  has  been  evolved 
wholly  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  adapt 
himself  to  the  degree  of  temperature  of  his  environ- 
ment, does  not  satisfy.  The  Eskimo,  living  in  the 
cold  Arctic  regions,  has  black  hair,  gray  or  brown 
eyes,  and  a  yellow  or  brown  skin.  Dwellers  on  the 
cold  northern  plains  of  Asia  and  North  America 
are  brown  and  yellow,  while  certain  tribes  in  the 
heavily  forested  but  hot,  moist  mountains  of 


124        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

northern  Africa  are  blond.  These  considerations 
have  led  to  a  further  study  of  the  cause  of  pig- 
mentation. 

SUNLIGHT   THE   CAUSE  OF  PIGMENTATION 

In  1895,  Josef  Von  Schmaedel  read  a  paper  be- 
fore the  Anthropological  Society  of  Munich,  an- 
nouncing the  theory  that  pigmentation  in  man  was 
evolved  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  actinic  or 
short  rays  of  light  which  destroy  living  protoplasm. 
This  set  Major  (now  Lieutenant-Colonel,  retired) 
Charles  E.  Woodruff,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  Surgeon  U.  S. 
Army,  upon  a  systematic  search  for  data  to  prove 
or  disprove  Von  Schmaedel's  theory.  In  1905, 
Major  Woodruff  published  his  book,  "The  Effects 
of  Tropical  Light  on  White  Men."*  In  this  fas- 
cinating work,  Major  Woodruff  champions  the 
theory  of  Von  Schmaedel  and  gives  a  great  mass  of 
data,  gathered  from  many  scientists,  as  well  as  the 
result  of  his  own  original  research  —  all  favourable 
to  the  correctness  of  the  theory  that  the  shorter 
violet  and  ultraviolet,  actinic  rays  of  light  first 
stimulate,  then  exhaust,  and  finally  destroy  living 
protoplasm,  and  that  pigmentation  in  both  men 
and  animals  has  been  evolved  for  the  purpose  of 
excluding  these  actinic  rays  of  sunlight  from  the 
tissues  of  the  body.  Sunburn,  sunstroke,  and  the 

*Hebm&n  Co.,  New  York. 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  125 

dangerous  burns  of  the  X-ray,  radium,  and  other 
sources  of  short  rays,  as  well  as  the  popularly 
known  fact  that  sunlight  kills  bacteria,  are  all  evi- 
dences of  the  destructive  effect  of  actinic  rays. 

Another  evidence  of  the  relationship  between  pig- 
mentation and  sunlight,  rather  than  sun's  heat, 
is  the  fact  that  albinos  —  who  are  unpigmented  — > 
are  excessively  sensitive  to  light,  while  not  any 
more  sensitive  to  heat  than  others  of  the  same  race. 
According  to  this  theory,  also,  the  brunetteness  of 
the  Eskimo,  the  North  American  Indian,  and  the 
dweller  in  the  northern  part  of  Asia  is  explained. 
The  Eskimo  requires  his  pigmentation  as  a  protec- 
tion against  the  blinding  glare  of  snow  and  ice. 
The  plains  of  northern  Asia  and  North  America, 
while  cold,  are  also  largely  free  from  fog  and  cloud, 
so  that  considerable  pigmentation  is  needed  in  these 
parts  of  the  world  as  a  protection  against  light. 
According  to  Dr.  Carl  Beck,  blonds  are  far  more 
liable  to  burns  and  lesions  by  X-rays  than  brunettes, 
the  extreme  brunette  being  almost  immune.* 

BLOND   AND   BRUNETTE  RACE3 

Still  further  confirmation  of  this  theory  is  found 
in  the  evolution  of  extreme  blondness  in  north- 
western Europe,  on  the  plains,  and  among  the 
heavily  forested  mountains  in  the  neighbourhood 

*New  York  Medical  Record,  January  IS.  1900. 


126        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

of  the  Baltic  Sea.  This  is  the  cloudiest,  foggiest, 
darkest  region  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  is  the 
cradle  of  the  Scandinavian  and  Teutonic  races, 
both  of  which  are  predominantly  blond.  Anthro- 
pologists violently  differ  as  to  the  place  where 
the  blond  or  white  races  were  evolved.  Most  of 
them,  however,  agree  that  primitive  man  was 
brunette  and  that  blondness  has  been  evolved  as 
the  result  of  either  forced  or  voluntary  migration 
of  the  primitive  brunette  to  cold,  dark,  cloudy 
northwestern  Europe.  The  climate  of  this  part 
of  Europe  is  rigorous  and  severe. 

At  this  point  let  us  define  our  use  of  the  terms 
blond  and  brunette.  In  popular  usage  a  blond  is  a 
person  of  the  white  race  with  extremely  light  hair, 
blue  eyes,  and  pink-and- white  skin;  a  brunette  a 
person  of  the  white  race  with  dark  hair,  brown  eyes, 
and  sallow  or  very  light  olive  skin.  As  we  use  the 
terms  here,  all  races  of  mankind  are  divided  into 
two  classes  —  those  with  white  skins  and  those 
with  dark  skins.  The  albino  is  the  most  extreme 
blond;  the  black  negro  the  most  extreme  brunette. 
Those  fairer  than  halfway  between  the  two  are 
blond;  those  darker,  brunette.  According  to  this 
classification,  most  of  those  ordinarily  called  bru- 
nettes are  blonds.  They  belong  to  "white"  races. 
They  manifest  the  characteristics  of  blonds  in  in- 
verse proportion  to  their  degree  of  pigmentation. 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  127 

EVOLUTION  OF  BLOND  RACES 

The  necessities  of  life  in  the  harsh  environment 
where  blondness  was  evolved  are  more  numerous 
and  at  the  same  time  more  difficult  to  obtain  than 
in  a  milder  one.  Man  requires  more  food,  more 
shelter,  more  clothing,  more  fuel,  than  in  a  warm 
climate.  Whereas  fruits,  vegetables,  fish,  flesh, 
and  fowl  are  comparatively  easy  to  secure  in  warm 
latitudes,  they  are  scarce,  difficult  to  secure,  and 
require  much  more  preparation  in  the  higher  lati- 
tudes. Under  Northern  climatic  conditions,  then, 
only  the  largest,  strongest,  healthiest,  most  intel- 
ligent, most  hopeful,  most  courageous,  and  most 
aggressive  individuals  would  survive.  The  natural 
result  would  be  the  evolution  of  a  race  of  men  and 
women  endowed  with  robust  physical,  mental, 
and  psychical  characteristics.  Since  the  relatively 
abundant  pigmentation  of  the  primitive  first  set- 
tler in  these  dark  countries  was  not  needed  as 
a  protection  against  light,  blondness  was  gradually 
evolved  along  with  the  characteristics  just  men- 
tioned. 

A  process  of  evolution,  therefore,  having  pro- 
duced a  vigorous,  aggressive  blond  race,  conquerors 
of  a  harsh  and  severe  environment,  these  qualities 
of  the  race  sent  them  southward,  eastward,  and 
westward  to  become  the  conquerors  and  rulers 
of  brunette  races  less  aggressive,  less  bold,  less 


128        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

domineering,  less  vigorous,  because  their  more 
kindly  environment  had  not  necessitated  the  evolu- 
tion of  these  rugged  traits.  Prehistoric  evidence 
in  abundance  indicates  that  a  conquering  race  of 
tall,  vigorous,  fair-haired,  blue-eyed,  white-skinned 
men  migrated  in  successive  waves  over  Europe, 
Asia  Minor,  northern  Africa,  Persia,  India,  Ceylon, 
Java,  and  perhaps  as  far  east  as  the  Philippine 
Islands.  This  race  of  men  called  themselves 
Aryans,  and  wherever  they  went  forced  their  lan- 
guage upon  the  conquered  brunette  races.  How 
long  ago  these  prehistoric  migrations  of  Aryans 
began  is  lost  in  antiquity,  but  there  are  evidences 
in  the  Pyramids  of  intruding  white  men  as  early  as 
three  or  four  thousand  years  before  Christ.  It  is 
known  that  there  was  an  invasion  of  white  men  into 
Greece  2000  to  1000  B.  C.  However  early  this 
migration  may  have  been,  it  was  so  long  ago  that 
ancient  Sanskrit,  formerly  spoken  and  written  in 
India  and  Persia,  classic  Greek  and  Latin,  as  well 
as  ancient  and  modern  German,  French,  Spanish, 
Italian,  Dutch,  Danish,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Eng- 
lish, Gaelic,  and  Welsh  languages,  and  many  dia- 
lects now  spoken  in  India,  all  bear  unmistakable 
evidence  of  their  common  origin  in  the  Aryan 
tongue. 

It  is  significant  that  Hellenes,  the  name  by  which 
the  ancient  Greeks  called  themselves;  Celts  and 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  129 

Gaels,  names  given  to  themselves  by  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland;  and 
Aryans,  the  general  name  given  to  themselves  by 
the  conquering  races  to  which  we  have  referred,  all 
mean  "white  men."  Some  high  anthropological 
authorities  do  not  accept  the  theory  of  the  Aryan 
race.  Some  assign  the  place  of  its  origin  to  Asia 
instead  of  Europe.  But  the  majority  favour  the 
outline  we  have  given  —  and  the  preponderance 
of  evidence  seems  to  be  with  them. 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  EARLY  BLOND  RACES 

These  early  white  men  were  tall,  vigorous,  rest- 
less, courageous,  aggressive,  and  brainy,  but  they 
lacked  culture.  They  excelled  in  warfare,  in  nav- 
igation, in  exploration,  but  they  are  always  called 
crude,  barbarian,  rough,  and  brutal  by  ancient 
writers.  Having  conquered  the  brunette  natives 
of  the  various  countries  to  which  they  migrated, 
the  white  men  proved  themselves  to  be  wonderful 
organizers,  creators,  builders,  rulers,  and  captains 
of  industry.  They  early  adopted  the  culture, 
arts,  and  letters  developed  through  long  centuries 
of  patient  plodding  by  the  brunette  peoples,  among 
whom  they  intruded  and  over  whom  they  ruled. 
They  built  up  wonderful  civilizations,  great  cities, 
and  wealthy  and  powerful  nations.  The  ruins 
of  these  Aryan  creations  are  scattered  through 


130       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Java,  Ceylon,  India,  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt,  Greece, 
Macedonia,  Italy,  and  Spain. 

We  therefore  have  the  picture  of  civilization 
running  back  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  years, 
with  the  ruling  classes,  the  nobility,  the  aristoc- 
racy always  blond,  and  the  peasantry,  the  working 
classes,  the  subordinates  in  the  scheme  of  things, 
always  brunette.  This  fact  is  reflected  in  the 
Aryan  languages,  in  the  ancient  paintings  and 
statuary  referred  to  at  the  beginning  of  this  chap- 
ter, and  in  the  almost  instinctive  glorification  of 
the  blond  in  art,  in  literature,  on  the  stage,  and 
in  the  vernacular.  All  occidental  civilization,  and 
a  great  deal  of  oriental  civilization,  has  been  built 
up  and  ruled  from  the  very  earliest  times  by  white 
men.  In  many  ancient  governments  the  king  or 
emperor  was  deified,  and  so  gods  and  goddesses  and 
all  supernatural  beings  are  represented  as  blonds. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that 
the  inhabitants  of  modern  Java,  Ceylon,  India, 
Persia,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Turkey,  Italy, 
Spain,  and  France  are  now  predominantly  brunette. 
Many  anthropologists  agree  that  the  blond  Aryans 
who  built  up  these  old  civilizations  and  left  their 
language  as  a  legacy  have  entirely  died  out.  The 
reason  for  this  disappearance  of  the  tall,  vigorous, 
restless  blond  is  not  so  well  understood.  It  ought 
to  be  clear  to  the  thoughtful  observer,  however, 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  131 

that  if  blondness  was  evolved  in  cold,  dark,  north- 
western Europe,  then  the  extreme  white  Aryan 
race  was  out  of  its  natural  environment  in  these 
lands  where  there  is  an  excess  of  light,  against 
which  they  had  little  pigmentation  as  a  protection. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  there  is  no  third  genera- 
tion of  white  men  in  India.  Woodruff  presents  an 
abundance  of  evidence  to  prove  that  the  effect  of 
an  excess  of  sunlight,  with  its  destructive  actinic 
rays,  is  first  to  stimulate,  then  exhaust  and  degen- 
erate, and  finally  to  extirpate  the  white  races.  H« 
assigns  the  degeneracy  and  fall  of  all  ancient  civili- 
zations in  hot  countries  to  the  effects  of  tropical 
and  subtropical  sunlight  upon  their  blond  rulers. 

TWO  FACTS  ABOUT  BLONDS 

Statistics  show  that  blonds  are  becoming  rela- 
tively less  numerous  than  brunettes  in  England, 
the  United  States,  New  Zealand,  Australia,  and 
South  Africa,  notwithstanding  the  constant  fresh 
migrations  of  blonds  to  these  countries  from  north- 
western Europe.  Statistics  also  show  many  forms 
of  physical,  nervous,  and  mental  degeneracy  of 
blonds  in  tropical  regions,  of  the  second  or  third 
generations  of  blonds  in  subtropical  climates,  and 
of  later  generations  of  blonds  in  those  parts  of  the 
temperate  and  north  temperate  zones  where  there 
is  an  abundance  of  sunlight.  All  of  these  facts  are 


132        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

of  great  scientific  value  to  the  student  of  variations 
in  physique,  in  appearance,  and  in  character 
among  human  beings. 

Two  fundamental  facts  about  blonds  stand  out 
from  all  this  mass  of  evidence  and  are  the  key  by 
which  we  may  best  understand  their  physical, 
mental,  and  psychical  qualities:  (1)  Blondness  was 
evolved  in  an  environment  which  permitted  the 
survival  of  those  only  who  were  most  vigorous, 
most  intelligent,  most  aggressive,  most  creative, 
most  active,  and  most  capable  of  adapting  them- 
selves to  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  feast  and  fam- 
ine, altitude,  and  occupation.  (2)  In  countries 
where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  light,  blonds  are 
suffering  more  or  less  from  too  much  stimulation 
of  brain  and  nerves,  and  oftentimes  from  brain 
and  nerve  exhaustion,  and  consequent  physical, 
mental,  and  psychical  degeneracy. 

EVOLUTION   OF   THE   BRUNETTE 

In  studying  the  brunette  we  shall  understand 
better  his  characteristics  if  we  remember  that  his 
brunetteness  was  evolved,  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases,  in  a  warm,  pleasant  climate  where  his 
necessities  were  comparatively  few.  Man  requires 
less  food,  less  clothing,  less  shelter,  less  fuel  in  a 
warm  climate  than  in  a  cold  one.  In  addition  to 
requiring  less  of  all  these  things,  the  brunette  found 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  133 

them  all  easy  to  obtain  from  the  abundance  of 
animal  and  vegetable  life  around  him.  His  sur- 
roundings were  comfortable,  conducive  to  quiet 
and  physical  inactivity.  Since  there  was  plenty 
to  supply  his  few  wants  close  at  hand,  he  did  not 
need  to  take  to  sea  or  travel  far  by  land.  Receiving 
most  of  his  necessary  warmth  from  outside  sources, 
he  did  not  need  as  much  oxygen  as  the  blond,  who 
had  to  breathe  in  great  quantities  of  it  that  he  might 
sustain  internal  oxygenization  and  thus  produce 
heat  for  himself.  As  a  result  of  the  same  conditions, 
all  processes  of  metabolism  and  katabolism  in  the 
brunette  were  slower  than  these  processes  in  the 
blond.  Whereas  the  blond  was  required  to  expend 
all  of  his  mental  and  physical  energy  in  active, 
aggressive  combat  with  his  harsh  environment  in 
order  to  obtain  the  material  means  of  life,  the  bru- 
nette, in  a  kindlier  environment  and  in  the  midst  of 
plenty,  had  both  energy  and  time  to  spare. 

With  these  scientific  facts  as  to  the  evolution 
of  blondness  and  brunetteness  in  mind,  a  thought- 
ful, logical  person  should  be  able  to  determine 
accurately  the  physical,  mental,  and  psychical  dif- 
ferences between  blonds  and  brunettes. 

CHARACTERISTICS   OF   BLONDS 

The  keynote  of  the  physical  characteristics  of 
the  normal  blond  is  gpsitiveness.  He  inclines  to  be 


134        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

tall,  robust,  with  a  superabundance  of  buoyant, 
radiant  health  and  vigour.  Since  his  race  was 
evolved  in  a  cold,  dark,  harsh  environment,  all  of 
his  physical  processes  are  rapid  and  active.  In 
order  to  maintain  heat,  it  was  necessary  for  his 
ancestors  to  eat  and  digest  large  quantities  of  food 
and  breathe  in  a  great  deal  of  oxygen.  To  main- 
tain health  and  survive  in  their  environment,  they 
needed  strong,  reliable  circulations  and  circulatory 
systems.  With  digestion,  respiration,  and  circula- 
tion positive  and  active,  processes  of  elimination 
needed  to  be  similarly  quick  and  active.  All  of 
these  characteristics,  as  well  as  the  low  temperature 
in  which  they  lived,  necessitated  great  muscular 
activity;  as  did  also  their  need  for  food  and  cloth- 
ing. 

Because  of  his  heredity  and  racial  environment, 
therefore,  the  normal  blond  is  characterized  in 
every  department  of  his  physical  being  by  positive- 
ness,  rapidity,  adaptability,  energy,  and  activity. 
It  is  for  these  reasons  that  a  blond  seldom  suffers 
from  chronic  diseases.  He  becomes  ill  quickly 
and  dies  or  recovers  quickly. 

Since  quickness  and  aggressiveness  are  physical 
attributes  of  the  blond;  since  in  his  hunting,  his 
sailing,  and  his  fighting  he  has  always  been  called 
upon  for  quick  explosions  of  tremendous  energy 
followed  by  periods  of  recuperation,  the  blond  is 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  135 

not  particularly  well  fitted  for  long-sustained  phys- 
ical action.  He  expends  his  abundant  energy  too 
rapidly.  In  athletics,  therefore,  blonds  excel  in 
the  sprints  and  dashes,  in  jumping,  throwing,  vault- 
ing, and  other  such  contests;  while  the  brunettes 
are  better  adapted  to  long  runs,  wrestling,  prize 
fighting,  and  other  contests  where  endurance  is  the 
prime  requisite. 

The  early  environment  of  the  blond  races  was 
damp  and  rainy,  and  their  mode  of  life  required 
both  swimming  and  wading.  Blonds  are  there- 
fore, as  a  rule,  fond  of  water.  The  majority  of 
great  swimmers,  skaters,  oarsmen,  and  yachtsmen 
are  blonds.  The  early  Aryans  were  the  first 
navigators.  During  the  time  of  the  Aryan  civili- 
zation in  Phoenicia,  the  Phoenicians  were  the  great 
maritime  nation;  and  it  was  when  the  Aryans 
ruled  in  Persia,  in  Greece,  in  Rome,  in  Carthage, 
in  Spain,  and  in  France,  that  these  different 
nations  maintained  supremacy  of  sea  power. 
It  was  when  the  Aryan  rulers  had  been  elimi- 
nated by  excessive  sunlight  that  their  sea  power 
waned. 

The  mental  characteristics  of  blonds  are  the 
results  partly  of  the  influence  of  their  heredity  and 
environment  directly  upon  their  mental  nature, 
and  partly  arise  from  their  physical  condition. 
Since  the  brain  of  the  blond  was  evolved  in  an 


136        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

environment  requiring  the  constant  exercise  of  in- 
telligence, he  is  naturally  creative,  resourceful,  in- 
ventive, original.  These  qualities,  it  will  readily 
be  seen,  fit  in  perfectly  with  those  which  are  the 
result  of  his  exuberant  health. 

THE  DOMINEERING  BLOND 

The  man  who  has  a  good  digestion,  a  good  cir- 
culation, who  breathes  deeply,  and  whose  general 
health  is  robust  and  positive,  will  naturally  be 
optimistic,  hopeful,  exuberant,  eager,  and  fearless. 
Such  a  man  is  willing  to  take  a  chance,  speculative, 
impatient,  restless,  always  sighing  for  new  worlds 
to  conquer.  The  early  struggle  for  existence  of 
the  blond  races  led  them  far  afield.  They  hunted 
over  miles  of  territory.  They  hunted  in  the  moun- 
tains and  on  the  plains.  They  went  to  sea  in  ships. 
Their  very  climate  was  freakish  and  changeable. 
As  a  result  of  these  environmental  influences,  the 
blond  developed  an  eager  and  active  disposition, 
and  is  fond  of  change,  loves  variety,  is  happiest 
when  he  has  many  irons  in  the  fire,  and  easily  turns 
his  attention  from  one  interest  to  another.  Be- 
cause of  these  qualities,  and  because  of  the  joy  of 
conquest  developed  through  ages  of  triumph  over 
unfriendly  environment,  the  blond  loves  to  rule. 
He  is  inclined  to  be  domineering.  He  loves  to 
handle  and  manage  large  affairs  and  come  in  contact 


Copyright  by  D.  F.  Barry. 

Fig.  1.     American  Indian.   Observe  high  nose  and  strong  chin 


v  ANALYZING  THE  MAN  137 

with  life  at  as  many  points  as  possible.     Because 
of  his  exuberant  health,  his  splendid  circulation,  and 
his  naturally  optimistic,  hopeful,  courageous  dis- 
position, the  blond  likes  excitement,  crowds,  gayety. 
He  is  a  good  mixer  —  makes  acquaintances  readily 
with  all  kinds  of  people,  but,  on  account  of  his 
changeable  nature,  is  liable  to  be  fickle.   Thus  every- 
where blonds  push  into  the  limelight,  engage  in 
politics,  promoting  and  building  up  great  enterprises, 
selling,  advertising,  organizing,  colonizing,  creating, 
and  inventing.     It  is  for  this  reason  that  blonds  pre 
dominate  among  royalty,  nobility,  and  aristocracy. 
This  has  been  observed  by  many  investigators.     In 
the  Monthly  Review  for  August,   1901,  page  93, 
Havelock  Ellis  says: 

HAVELOCK  ELLIS  ON  BLONDS  AND  BRUNETTES 

"It  is  clear  that  a  high  index  of  pigmentation, 
or  an  excess  of  fairness,  prevails  among  the  men  of 
restless  and  ambitious  temperament,  the  sanguine, 
energetic  men,  the  men  who  easily  dominate  their 
fellows  and  who  get  on  in  life,  the  men  who  recruit 
the  aristocracy  and  who  doubtless  largely  form  the 
plutocracy.  It  is  significant  that  the  group  of 
low-class  men  —  artisans  and  peasants  —  and  the 
men  of  religion,  whose  mission  in  life  it  is  to  preach 
resignation  to  a  higher  will,  are  both  notably  of 
dark  complexion.  While  the  men  of  action  thus 


138         THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

tend  to  be  fair,  men  of  thought,  it  seems  to  me, 

show  some  tendency  to  be  dark." 

On  pages  95  and  96  he  says:  "It  so  happens 
that  an  interesting  and  acute  psychological  study 
of  the  fair  and  dark  populations  of  Norway  1ms 
lately  been  made  by  Dr.  A.  M.  Hansen.  This 
investigation  has  revealed  differences  even  more 
marked  between  the  fair  and  dark  than  may  easily 
be  discovered  in  our  own  islands,  and  this  is  not 
surprising,  since  our  racial  elements  have  been 
more  thoroughly  mixed.  The  fair  population, 
he  tells  us,  is  made  up  of  the  born  aristocrats,  ac- 
tive, outspoken,  progressive,  with  a  passion  for 
freedom  and  independence,  caring  nothing  for 
equality;  the  dark  population  is  reserved  and  sus- 
picious, very  conservative,  lacking  in  initiative, 
caring  little  for  freedom,  but  with  a  passion  for 
equality.  The  fair  people  are  warlike,  quarrel- 
some when  drunk,  and  furnish,  in  proportion  to 
numbers,  'three  times  as  many  men  for  the  volun- 
teer forces  as  the  dark  people;  the  latter,  though 
brave  sailors,  abhor  war,  and  are  very  religious, 
subscribing  to  foreign  missions  nearly  three  times 
as  much  per  head  as  is  furnished  by  fair  people, 
who  are  inclined  to  be  irreligious.  The  fair  people 
value  money  and  all  that  money  can  buy,  while  the 
dark  people  are  indifferent  to  money.  The  reality 
of  mental  distinction  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  a 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 

Fig.  2.     A  Turkish  Parade.     Turks,   evolved  in  cold,   light 
northern  Asia,  are  brunettes  with  convex  noses 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  139 

map  of  the  proportion  of  conservative  voters  in 
elections  to  the  Storthing  exactly  corresponds  to 
an  anthropological  map  of  the  country,  the  con- 
servative majority  being  found  in  the  dark  and 
broad-headed  districts.  While,  however,  the  fair 
population  is  the  most  irreligious  and  progressive, 
the  dark  population  is  by  no  means  behind  in  the 
production  of  intellect,  and  the  region  it  inhabits 
has  produced  many  eminent  men." 

In  the  same  article,  on  page  97,  he  says:  "It 
may  also  be  remarked  that  the  characteristics  of 
the  fair  population  are  especially  masculine  quali- 
ties; while  the  characteristics  of  the  dark  population 
are  more  peculiarly  feminine  qualities.  It  so  hap- 
pens also  that  women,  as  is  now  beginning  to  be 
generally  recognized  by  anthropologists,  tend  to 
be  somewhat  darker  than  men." 

WOODRUFF  ON  BLONDS  AND  BRUNETTES 

On  page  142,  "The  Effects  of  Tropical  Light 
on  White  Men,"  Major  Woodruff  says:  "The  fair 
man  tends  to  be  bold,  energetic,  restless,  and  dom- 
ineering, not  because  he  is  fair,  but  because  he  be- 
longs to  an  aboriginal  fair  stock  of  people  who 
possess  those  qualities;  while  the  dark  man  tends 
to  be  resigned  and  religious  and  imitative,  yet 
highly  intelligent,  not  because  he  is  dark,  but  be- 
cause he  belongs  to  a  dark  stock  possessing  these 


140      THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

characteristics.  While,  however,  the  fair  popula- 
tion is  the  most  irreligious  and  progressive,  the 
dark  population  is  by  no  means  behind  in  the  pro- 
duction of  intellect." 

One  of  the  first  thoughts  of  the  average  reader 
of  this  chapter  will  be  of  some  blond  or  brunette 
who  contradicts  every  one  of  these  generalizations. 
Lest  this  be  discouraging,  we  call  attention  to 
several  important  considerations :  First,  there  are 
many  blonds  and  brunettes,  who,  for  pathologi- 
cal reasons,  are  not  normal;  second,  albinos  or 
near  albinos  are  not  the  only  blonds;  third,  the 
observation  of  an  unpracticed  eye  is  not  always  re- 
liable; fourth,  there  are  eight  other  variables  yet 
to  be  observed,  each  with  its  many  variations  and 
their  important  significance;  fifth,  the  character- 
istics accompanying  variations  in  colour  find  many 
avenues  of  expression,  not  all  of  them  patent  to  the 
casual  observer. 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  BRUNETTES 

Just  as  the  normal  blond  is  physically  and  men- 
tally consistent  with  what  might  be  expected  of  one 
of  his  evolution  and  history,  so  is  the  normal  bru- 
nette. Since  the  brunette  races  were  evolved  in  a 
kindlier  climate  than  the  blond,  less  physical  and 
mental  positiveness  was  required  of  them,  and  they 
have  been  able  to  survive  without  the  exuberant 


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ANALYZING  THE  MAN  141 

health,  vigour,  intelligence,  resourcefulness,  and 
aggressiveness  required  of  blonds.  Their  respira- 
tion, digestion,  circulation,  and  elimination  are  all 
slower  and  more  moderate  than  in  the  blond. 
Since  size  has  not  been  necessary  for  their  survival, 
they  do  not  incline  to  be  so  large  as  blonds;  nor  are 
they  so  active,  so  quick,  or  in  any  way  physically 
so  positive.  Brunettes  require  less  food  and  breathe 
less  oxygen  than  blonds.  Since  all  physical  proc- 
esses of  brunettes  are  slower,  they  expend  their 
energy  less  rapidly,  and  are  therefore  more  endur- 
ing. They  do  not  become  ill  so  quickly,  but  are 
more  subject  to  chronic  diseases. 

Because  his  environment  has  not  required  it,  and 
because  of  his  negative  physical  nature,  the  bru- 
nette is  not  so  bold,  not  so  aggressive,  not  so  reck- 
lessly indifferent  to  consequences  as  the  blond. 
For  these  reasons,  and  because  his  mode  of  life 
as  well  as  his  climate  has  tended  to  sameness,  the 
brunette  is  more  conservative,  more  constant.  In 
keeping  with  all  of  these  qualities,  the  brunette 
does  not  seek  the  limelight,  crowds,  dominating 
position,  and  excitement,  but  prefers  a  few  friends, 
well  beloved,  a  quiet  home,  the  affection  of  his 
family  and  pets,  and  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  the 
beauties  of  nature.  Because  the  brunette  has  not 
been  compelled  to  give  all  of  his  time  and  energy 
to  a  struggle  for  his  life  with  harsh  material  condi- 


142  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
tions,  he  has  evolved  a  tendency  to  introspection, 
to  the  development  of  philosophy,  religion,  mys- 
teries, and  other  products  of  metaphysical  and 
spiritual  activities.  It  is  significant  that  Christian- 
ity, Buddhism,  Confucianism,  and  Mohammed- 
anism —  the  four  principal  religions  of  the  world  — 
have  their  origin  and  their  most  devoted  adherents 
among  brunette  peoples. 

ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT 

The  difference  between  the  Orient  and  the  Oc- 
cident is  very  largely  a  difference  between  blonds 
and  brunettes.  It  is  typical  of  the  oriental  bru- 
nette that  he  should  incline  to  mysticism,  occultism, 
psychism,  meditation,  self-denial,  and  non-resist- 
ance, living  on  a  meagre  diet  and  rather  indifferent 
to  material  things.  It  is  also  characteristic  of  the 
occidental  blond  that  he  should  be  materialistic, 
commercial,  scientific,  manufacturing,  an  organi- 
zer of  trusts  and  combinations,  a  builder  of  rail- 
roads and  empires,  interested  chiefly  in  the  things 
he  can  see,  hear,  smell,  taste,  and  feel,  and  giving 
the  unseen  world  but  secondary  consideration. 

The  brunette,  having  time  at  his  disposal,  has 
evolved  patience,  and  with  it  a  disposition  for 
detail,  for  minute  specialization.  Not  having  a 
genius  for  organization  and  government,  he  is 
usually  willing  to  permit  the  domineering  blond  to 


Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 

Fig.  4.  Filipino  Girls.  They  have  the  characteristic  con- 
cave foreheads  and  noses,  and  convex  mouths  and  chins  of 
brunette  races 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  143 

take  this  burden  off  his  hands.  To-day,  wherever 
there  is  stable  government,  it  is  either  in  the  hands 
or  under  the  influence  of  blonds  —  white  men. 
India  is  ruled  by  blond  England,  as  is  Egypt. 
Turkey  and  the  Balkan  States  have  been  in  a  state 
of  suppressed  and  active  turbulence  ever  since  the 
line  of  blond  rulers  died  out,  and  are  now  being 
reduced  to  something  like  order  by  blond  Europe. 
Mexico  and  some  of  the  South  and  Central  Ameri- 
can republics  achieved  whatever  measure  of  sta- 
bility they  had  under  the  rule  of  blond  Goths 
and  descendants  of  Goths  from  Spain.  Now  that 
these  white  strains  have  been  killed  off  by  excessive 
sunlight  these  countries  have  become  so  unstable 
that  some  kind  of  white  protectorate  seems  neces- 
sary. 

Prison  statistics  show  that  the  blond  is  most 
frequently  guilty  of  crimes  of  passion  and  impulse, 
crimes  arisingf  rom  his  gamblingpropensities  and  ill- 
considered  promotion  schemes;  while  the  brunette 
is  more  likely  to  commit  crimes  of  deliberation, 
specialization,  detail,  such  as  murder,  counter- 
feiting, forgeries,  conspiracy,  etc.  Because  the 
blond  is  healthy,  optimistic,  and  naturally  good- 
humoured,  he  eliminates  anger,  hatred,  melancholy, 
discouragement,  and  all  other  negative  feelings 
from  his  mind  as  easily  as  he  eliminates  waste  prod- 
ucts from  his  body.  Because  he  is  naturally 


144       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

slow,  cautious,  conservative,  and  inclined  to  be 
serious  and  thoughtful,  the  brunette  is  far  more 
liable  to  harbour  resentment,  to  cherish  a  grudge, 
to  plan  revenge,  to  see  the  dark  side  of  life,  and 
often  to  be  melancholy  and  pessimistic. 

The  same  qualities  that  cause  the  blond  to  be 
cheerful  and  optimistic  when  things  go  wrong,  give 
him  a  tendency  to  permit  things,  if  they  seem 
trivial  to  him,  to  go  wrong.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
same  qualities  that  cause  the  brunette  to  be  careful 
and  painstaking  with  minute  details  also  incline 
him  to  worry  and  grow  despondent  when  trouble 

comes. 

/( *  ' 

INDICATIONS   OF   COLOUR    SUMMED    UP 

In  brief,  always  and  everywhere,  the  normal 
blond  has  positive,  dynamic,  driving,  aggressive, 
domineering,  impatient,  active,  quick,  hopeful, 
speculative,  changeable,  and  variety -loving  char- 
acteristics ;  while  the  normal  brunette  has  negative, 
static,  conservative,  imitative,  submissive,  cau- 
tious, painstaking,  patient,  plodding,  slow,  deliber- 
ate, serious,  thoughtful,  specializing  characteristics. 

In  applying  this  law  of  colour  to  people  of  the 
white  race,  the  method  is  simple.  The  less  the 
pigmentation  in  any  individual,  the  more  marked 
will  be  the  characteristics  of  the  blond  in  his  phys- 
ical, mental,  and  psychical  nature;  the  greater 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  145 

the  degree  of  pigmentation,  the  more  marked  the 
characteristics  of  the  brunette. 

FORM 
The  Evolution  of  Form 

Primitive  man  was  not  only  brunette,  according 
to  anthropologists,  but  had  a  short,  wide,  low- 
bridged  nose,  with  large,  round  nostrils  leading 
almost  directly  to  the  throat.  Primitive  man 
doubtless  inhabited  the  tropical  and  subtropical 
regions  of  the  earth.  Dwelling  in  a  warm  climate, 
he  was  slow  in  all  his  muscular  and  organic  re- 
actions, had  comparatively  little  need  to  develop 
bodily  heat,  and  was  not  compelled  to  great  activity 
in  order  to  obtain  his  relatively  meagre  necessities 
of  life.  For  all  of  these  reasons,  therefore,  primi- 
tive man  required  only  moderate  supplies  of  oxy- 
gen. His  breathing  was  therefore  shallow  and 
slow.  The  warm,  moist  air  of  his  natural  environ- 
ment needed  little  or  no  tempering  before  enter' 
ing  his  lungs.  Therefore  a  short,  wide  air-passage 
fitted  his  requirements  admirably.  It  was  all  the 
better  because  the  air  of  the  tropics  is  rarefied  by 
heat  and  contains  less  oxygen  in  a  given  volume 
than  cold  air. 

When  man,  either  voluntarily  or  as  the  result  of 
overcrowding,  migrated  into  colder  and  harsher 
climates,  conditions  were  changed.  The  air,  being 


146  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
cold,  was  more  condensed,  and  contained  more 
oxygen  in  proportion  to  its  volume  than  air  in  the 
warmer  climates.  Short,  wide  air-passages  to  the 
lungs  were  not  necessary.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
were  a  disadvantage,  as  cold  air  quickly  killed  off 
those  with  the  flattest,  widest  noses  and  shallowest 
lungs  —  just  as  it  kills  negroes  by  pneumonia, 
bronchitis,  and  tuberculosis  in  our  Northern  climes 
to-day.  While  the  greater  density  of  the  air  in- 
creased its  richness  in  oxygen  in  proportion  to 
volume,  its  lower  temperature  necessitated  a  larger 
consumption  of  oxygen  in  order  to  maintain  bodily 
heat.  There  was  also  an  increased  demand  for 
oxygen  due  to  the  greater  muscular  activity  needed 
to  hunt  down,  capture,  carry,  and  otherwise  pro- 
vide food,  clothing,  shelter,  and  fuel.  So  man  in 
his  rigorous  environment  breathed  greater  volumes 
of  air,  and  at  the  same  time  required  the  air  he 
breathed  to  be  warmed  and  moistened  before 
reaching  his  lungs. 

EVOLUTION  OF  THE  LARGE,  HIGH  NOSE 

Since  those  with  the  shortest  and  flattest  noses 
were  killed  off  by  the  climate,  it  follows  that  those 
with  the  longest,  highest,  narrowest  noses  sur- 
vived. This  process  of  selection  developed  a  race 
with  noses  high  in  the  bridge,  well  set  out  from  the 
face,  and  with  narrow,  elongated  nostrils.  Cold 


Fig.  6.     A  splendid  example  of  convex  upper,  concave  lower, 

profile 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  147 

air,  though  admitted  through  such  a  nose  in  large 
quantities,  would  be  drawn  in  thin  ribbons  over  and 
around  moistened  and  heated  surfaces,  and  thus 
prepared  for  the  lungs.  The  high,  thin  nose  was 
therefore  evolved  in  the  same  environment  with 
blondness  and  is  associated,  along  with  blondness, 
with  nobility  and  aristocracy  by  artists,  poets, 
dramatists,  and  the  people  generally  in  both  an- 
cient and  modern  times.  Next  to  colour,  therefore, 
the  nose  as  seen  in  profile  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
ancient  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  easily  observed 
and  popularly  regarded  indications  of  character. 

Not  all  high,  thin  noses,  however,  were  evolved 
along  with  blondness.  The  brown  and  yellow  races 
of  the  cold,  light  northern  plains  of  Asia  and  Amer- 
ica also  have  them.  Such  noses  are  shown  in 
figures  1  and  2  (American  Indians  and  Turks). 
The  faces  of  brunette  peoples  who  live  in  warm, 
moist  climates  show  how  common  is  the  broad, 
flat  nose  among  them.  See  figures  3  and  4  (Ne- 
groes and  Filipinos.) 

The  height  and  thinness  of  the  nose  among  the 
people  of  India  has  been  found  to  correspond  very 
closely  with  their  height  of  caste.  H.  H.  Risley 
in  his  book,  "The  Types  and  Castes  of  Bengal," 
pages  80-81,  says:  "If  we  take  a  series  of  castes  in 
Bengal,  Behar,  or  the  Northwest  Province  and 
arrange  them  in  the  order  of  the  average  nasal 


148  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
index,  so  that  the  caste  with  the  finest  nose  shall 
be  at  the  top,  and  that  with  the  coarsest  at  the 
bottom  of  the  list,  it  will  be  found  that  this  order 
substantially  corresponds  with  the  accepted  order 
of  social  precedence.  The  casteless  tribes  —  Kols, 
Korwas,  Munda,  and  the  like  —  who  have  not  yet 
entered  the  Brahmanical  system,  occupy  the  lowest 
place.  Then  come  the  vermin-eating  Muskars  and 
the  leather-dressing  Chamars ....  From 
them  we  pass  to  the  trading  Khatris,  the  land- 
holding  Babhan,  and  the  upper  crust  of  Hindu 
society.  It  is  scarcely  a  paradox  to  lay  down  as  a 
law  for  the  caste  organization  of  eastern  India 
that  a  man's  social  status  varies  in  inverse  ratio 
to  the  width  of  his  nose.  .  .  .  The  remarkable 
correspondence  between  the  gradations  of  type 
as  brought  out  by  certain  indices,  and  the  grada- 
tions of  social  precedence,  enables  us  to  conclude 
that  community  of  race,  and  not,  as  has  frequently 
been  argued,  community  of  function,  is  the  real 
determining  principle  of  the  caste  system.  Every- 
where we  find  high  social  position  associated  with  a 
certain  physical  type  and,  conversely,  low  social 
position  with  a  markedly  different  type."  Bengal 
is  a  presidency  in  northern  India,  much  of  it  being 
of  high  altitude,  where  cold  and  dryness  have  had 
their  effect  upon  the  nose  as  well  as  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  people. 


Fig.  7.     Savonarola.     Extreme  convex  form  of  profile, 
especially  convex  mouth 


Note 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  149 

From  our  own  records  we  find  that  out  of  997 
white  people  examined  in  all  parts  of  America, 
851,  or  85.28  per  cent.,  had  high  noses,  and  146, 
or  14.72  per  cent.,  low  noses. 

The  significant  point  in  regard  to  the  contour  or 
form  of  the  nose  as  seen  in  profile  is  this :  The  high, 
prominent  nose  enables  its  possessor  to  breathe  in 
large  quantities  of  oxygen  in  cold  air.  It  was 
evolved  in  the  midst  of  environments  necessitating 
great  activity  and  aggressiveness.  It  is  therefore 
always  associated  with  positive  energy.  The  low, 
short,  "sway-back,"  or  flat  nose  is  best  adapted  to 
breathe  warm,  moist,  rarefied  air.  It  was  evolved 
in  the  midst  of  an  environment  not  requiring  much 
activity.  It  is  therefore  associated  with  compara- 
tive inactivity  and  moderate  or  deficient  energy. 

EVOLUTION  OF  THE  HIGH,   SLOPING  FOREHEAD 

An  examination  of  figures  3,  4,  and  5  reveals* 
some  interesting  and  significant  facts  about  fore- 
heads. Among  the  most  primitive  and  most  back- 
ward races  and  individuals  we  find  the  forehead 
low,  short,  narrow,  and  receding  —  small  in  every 
dimension.  Among  most  civilized  and  semi-civil- 
ized brunette  peoples  the  forehead  is  much  higher, 
much  wider,  and  inclined  to  be  more  prominent  at 
or  just  below  the  hair-line  than  at  the  brows,  as 
in  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  Malays.  (See  figures 


150       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

4  and  5.)  Among  white  people  the  forehead  is 
high  and  wide.  In  some  individuals  it  is  more 
prominent  at  the  hair-line  than  at  the  brows,  but 
in  the  majority  much  more  prominent  at  the  brows 
than  above.  (See  figures  6,  7,  8,  and  9.)  Our  ob- 
servations, taken  upon  1,994  whites,  show  that 
1,701,  or  85.27  per  cent.,  have  foreheads  prominent 
at  the  brows  and  receding  above;  293,  or  14.73  per 
cent.,  prominent  above  and  flat  at  the  brows. 

The  contour,  OT  form,  of  the  forehead  as  seen  in 
profile  is  more  or  less  closely  associated  with  col- 
our, and  presents  considerations  worthy  of  careful 
study  and  comparison.  Popular  opinion  relates 
the  size  and  shape  of  the  forehead  with  the  degree 
and  type  of  intellectual  power.  People  call  a  man 
who  is  interested  in  abstruse,  intellectual  matters  a 
high-brow,  and  the  man  who  is  grossly  material  in 
his  thought  a  low-brow.  Anthropologists  and  phys- 
iological psychologists  add  their  testimony  by 
agreeing,  almost  unanimously,  that  the  higher  in- 
tellectual functions  of  the  brain  are  performed  by 
the  frontal  section  of  the  cerebrum. 

Whether  there  is  any  real  causal  connection  be- 
tween the  size  and  form  of  the  forehead  and  the 
degree  and  kind  of  intellectual  power  possessed  by 
the  individual  is  a  question,  the  discussion  of  which 
we  shall  leave  to  others.  We  call  attention,  how- 
ever, once  more  to  the  illustrations.  Figures  4  and 


Fig.  8.     Kaiser  Wilhelm  II.     Good  example  of  pure  convex 
form  of  profile.     Note  great  energy  indicated  by  nose 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  151 

5  show  that  civilized  and  semi-civilized  dark  races 
generally  have  foreheads  prominent  above  and  com- 
paratively flat  at  the  brows.  As  we  have  seen, 
the  brunette  inclines  to  be  thoughtful,  meditative, 
introspective,  philosophic,  and  theoretical,  rather 
than  practical  intellectually;  while  the  blond  in- 
clines to  be  imaginative,  inventive,  material,  com- 
mercial, scientific,  and  practical. 

Since  the  brunette  was  interested  chiefly  in 
dreams,  fancies,  philosophies,  creeds,  poems,  and 
in  the  world  of  spirit  and  thought  in  general,  he 
developed  the  power  of  abstract  reasoning,  analy- 
sis, correlation,  and  the  perception  of  intellectual 
and  spiritual  values,  leaving  his  powers  of  percep- 
tion of  material  and  tangible  things  comparatively 
undeveloped.  Since  the  blond  was  interested 
chiefly  in  material  things,  he  trained  and  developed 
keen  and  reliable  sense  perceptions,  and  the  ability 
to  see  things  in  their  practical  relationships.  There- 
fore the  "bulging"  forehead  is  the  forehead  of 
meditation,  of  dreams  and  fancies,  of  abstract 
reasoning,  of  philosophies  and  creeds,  and  often- 
times of  those  delicate  perceptions  of  the  incon- 
gruity of  ideas  which  we  call  a  sense  of  humour. 
The  high,  sloping  forehead  is  associated  with  a 
keen,  practical,  matter-of-fact  intellect.  Such  an 
intellect  gains  its  knowledge  readily  and  quickly 
through  the  senses.  It  demands  facts,  but  is  com- 


152  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
paratively  uninterested  in  the  reasons  for  the  facts. 
This  type  of  intellect  forms  its  conclusions  quickly 
upon  presentation  of  facts,  especially  of  facts  in 
concrete  form,  without  taking  the  time  to  reason 
deeply  or  ponder  over  them.  In  general,  then, 
the  form  of  forehead  which  slopes  back  from  the 
brows  (see  figure  6)  is  found  with  a  quick,  ener- 
getic, positive  intellect;  that  which  is  prominent 
above  (see  figure  5)  is  found  with  a  slow,  medi- 
tative intellect  of  moderate  or  deficient  energy. 

EVOLUTION  OF  FORM  OF  MOUTH  AND  CHIN 

That  we  may  study  the  face  as  a  whole,  let  us 
also  observe  the  contour  of  the  mouth  and  chin  as 
seen  in  profile.  The  dweller  in  the  kindly,  gentle 
climes  of  the  tropics  and  subtropics  finds  most  of 
his  food  in  the  form  of  ripe  fruit.  This  is  not  only 
soft  and  easy  of  mastication  but  also  so  easy  of  di- 
gestion as  to  be  in  some  cases  almost  predigested. 
The  dweller  in  the  cold,  dark  regions  of  the  North 
is  required  to  cut  and  tear  and  grind  his  food  with 
his  teeth.  Such  fruits  as  grow  in  his  clime  are 
harder  and  tougher  than  those  found  in  the  tropics. 
He  also  eats  a  great  deal  of  grain,  which  has  to  be 
ground,  and  in  ancient  days  was  mostly  ground 
by  his  own  teeth.  Nuts  had  to  be  cracked,  and 
were  frequently  cracked  by  the  teeth.  Fish,  flesh, 
and  fowl  were  cut  and  torn  and  crushed  by  the 


Pig.  9.     An  American  Engineer.     Pure  convex  form  of  profile. 
Note  especially  prominent  brows 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  153 

teeth.  Eskimo  women  prepare  and  soften  leather 
by  gnawing  off  the  fat  and  gristle  and  chewing  the 
skins.  In  this  way  the  primitive  dweller  in  the 
North  developed  a  wide,  deep  jaw  and  chin,  which 
not  only  afforded  an  adequate  setting  for  his  large 
teeth  but  a  firm  fastening  for  the  muscles  of  mas- 
tication. (See  figures  6,  10,  and  16.) 

Civilized  and  semi-civilized  dark  races  as  shown  in 
figures  3, 4,  and  5  incline  either  to  narrow,  receding 
chins  or  short,  wide,  receding  chins.  Is  it  strange 
that  "strong"  chins  in  literature  and  in  the  popular 
mind  should  be  associated  with  courage,  will-power, 
defiance,  endurance,  and  persistence,  and  that 
"weak"  or  receding  chins  are  held  to  be  indications 
of  a  degree  of  deficiency  in  these  qualities?  The 
wide,  deep  chin,  prominent  at  the  lower  point,  as 
seen  in  profile,  was  evolved  in  the  midst  of  an  en- 
vironment requiring  courage,  determination,  and 
endurance.  The  short,  narrow,  receding  chin  was 
evolved  in  the  midst  of  an  environment  requiring 
relatively  little  of  these  qualities. 

It  is  only  natural  that  in  the  narrow,  contracted, 
under-developed  jaw  and  chin  the  teeth  are  crowded 
and  pushed  forward.  This  gives  the  mouth,  as 
seen  in  profile,  a  protruding  or  prominent  form. 
In  the  broad,  square  jaw,  the  teeth,  having  plenty 
of  room,  arrange  themselves  in  a  broader,  flatter 
curve  and  stand  either  vertically  in  the  jaws  or 


154        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

pointed  slightly  inward  rather  than  outward.  This 
arrangement  and  position  of  the  teeth  gives  the  en- 
tire mouth,  as  seen  in  profile,  a  flatter,  less  promi- 
nent, and  even  receding  aspect.  Figures  3,4,5,  and 
7  show  the  prominent  mouth  and  teeth;  figures  65 
10,  the  flat  or  receding  mouth  and  teeth. 

DIGESTION  AND  CHARACTER 

The  articulation  of  protruding  teeth  is  of  ten  poor. 
It  is  not  easy  for  them  to  masticate  food.  Easily 
digested  food  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  principal  part 
of  the  diet  where  this  form  of  mouth  is  evolved.  The 
tendency,  therefore,  is  toward  quick,  rather  weak, 
digestion.  And  an  unreliable  digestion  leads  to 
irritability,  cynicism,  scolding,  and  "grouchiness." 
A  less  prominent  and  protruding  arrangement 
of  the  teeth  gives  them  more  room  for  develop- 
ment. It  also  affords  better  articulation  and 
makes  better  mastication  possible.  This  arrange- 
ment of  teeth  having  been  evolved  in  regions  where 
most  of  the  food  obtainable  required  time  and  vigour 
to  digest,  the  tendency  of  evolution  was  therefore 
toward  a  slow,  strong,  reliable  digestion.  Such 
a  digestion  is  conducive  to  abundant  nourishment 
—  and  the  mild,  sweet,  good-natured,  cheerful  dis- 
position which  naturally  results  from  a  sound  diges- 
tion and  sufficient  food.  A  hungry  animal  —  or 
a  hungry  man  —  is  often  cross  and  impatient. 


Fig.  10.     Dr.  T.  Alex.  Cairns,  Lecturer.     Pure  concave  form 
of  profile.     Well  known  for  good  nature  and  humour 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  155 

And  one  whose  digestion  is  poor  is  in  a  constant 
state  of  partial  starvation.  A  prominent  mouth, 
therefore,  was  evolved  along  with  a  quick,  unrelia- 
ble digestion  —  a  receding  mouth  with  a  slow, 
reliable  digestion.  Hence  a  prominent  mouth  is 
associated  with  irritability  and  impatience  —  a 
receding  mouth  with  mildness  and  sweetness. 

We  have  now  considered  briefly  the  evolution  of 
form  of  forehead,  nose,  mouth,  and  chin,  as  seen  in 
profile.  We  have  also  considered  very  briefly  the 
significance  of  form  in  each  case.  Note  carefully 
the  following  facts:  JFirst,  jornL^lways  relates  to 
the  contour  of  a  feature  as  seen  in  profile.  Second, 
in  considering  form  we  always  give  attention  to 
whether  the  feature  is  prominent  and  protruding,  or 
somewhat  concave  and  receding.  With  these  points 
clearly  in  mind,  let  us  now  construct  a  human 
face,  as  seen  in  profile,  with  forehead  prominent  at 
the  brows  and  receding  above,  with  the  eyes  large 
and  prominent,  with  the  nose  high  in  the  bridge, 
long,  and  standing  well  out  from  the  face,  with  teeth 
and  mouth  protruding  and  prominent,  and  with 
chin  short  and  receding.  Such  a  face  is  well  rep- 
resented by  figures  7,  8,  and  9. 

Now  let  us  construct  another  face,  with  forehead 
prominent  above  and  flat  at  the  brows,  eyes  deep- 
set  and  small,  nose  short,  sway-back,  or  snubbed, 
teeth  and  mouth  receding,  and  chin  long,  broad, 


156       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

and  prominent  at  the  lower  point.     Such  a  face 

is  well  represented  in  figure  10. 

Now  let  us  construct  still  another  face,  with  a 
straight  forehead,  about  equally  prominent  above 
and  at  the  brows,  with  eyes  neither  deep-set  nor 
protruding,  with  a  straight,  medium-sized  nose, 
with  a  mouth  neither  prominent  nor  receding,  and 
a  chin  whose  form,  as  seen  in  profile,  is  in  a  straight 
line  with  the  forehead,  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth. 
Such  a  face  is  well  represented  in  figure  11. 

THREE   PRIMARY   FORMS   OF   FACE 

Now  let  us  examine  carefully  these  three  faces. 
The  face  shown  in  figure  9  is  convex,  in  form, 
as  seen  in  profile.  The  face  in  figure  10  is  concave 
in  form,  as  seen  in  profile.  The  face  in  figure  11 
is  plane,  as  seen  in  profile.  The  face  in  figure  9 
is  prominent  in  the  middle  section  and  recedes 
above  and  below.  This  is  the  pure  type  of  convex 
form.  The  face  in  figure  10  is  prominent  above 
and  below,  and  receding  in  the  middle  section. 
This  is  the  pure  type  of  concave  form.  The  face 
in  figure  11  is  not  particularly  prominent  in  any 
section  but  is  modelled  upon  a  plane  surface.  This 
is  the  pure  type  of  plane  form.  Form,  therefore, 
as  used  in  this  science,  refers  to  the  contour  of  the 
face  or  of  any  feature  as  seen  in  profile.  A  convex 
face  has  a  convex  contour.  A  concave  face  has 


Fig.  11.     Charles  Dana  Gibson.     Pure  plane  form  of  profile 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  157 

a  concave  contour.     A  plane  face  has  a  plane  con- 
tour. 

While  certain  forms  of  features  seem  to  have 
been  evolved  along  with  blondness,  and  certain 
other  forms  along  with  brunetteness,  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  that  every  degree  and  combination 
of  convexity  and  concavity  is  to  be  found  associ- 
ated with  every  degree  of  blondness  and  brunette- 
ness.  While  it  is  true,  as  our  statistics  prove, 
that,  as  a  general  rule,  convex  noses  and  foreheads 
are  found  among  white  peoples,  and  concave  noses 
and  foreheads  among  dark  races,  we  have  seen 
many  examples  of  concave  noses  and  foreheads 
among  whites,  and  convex  noses  and  foreheads 
among  dark  people.  Examples  of  this  are  many 
in  any  public  gathering.  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  the  truths  of  this  science  is  that  any  com- 
bination of  variations  of  the  nine  fundamental 
variables  is  possible. 

THE   CONVEX   FACE 

The  significance  of  the  pure  convex  type  is  en- 
ergy, both  mental  and  physical.  Superabundance 
of  energy  makes  the  extreme  convex  keen,  alert, 
quick,  eager,  aggressive,  impatient,  positive,  and 
penetrating.  As  indicated  by  the  form  of  his  fore- 
head, the  extreme  convex  will  express  his  energy 
in  a  practical  manner  —  that  is  to  say,  in  keen 


158        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

observation  in  dealing  with  material  and  tangible 
things.  He  will  demand  facts,  and  will  act  upon 
facts  quickly  and  rapidly,  being  too  impatient  to 
wait  for  reasons  and  theories  and  other  abstruse 
considerations  which  seem  to  him  impractical. 
The  pure  convex  is  not  only  quick  to  act  but  quick 
to  speak.  The  tendencies  indicated  by  his  convex 
mouth  will  cause  him  to  speak  frankly  and  at 
times  even  sharply  and  fiercely,  without  much  re- 
gard for  tact  or  diplomacy.  As  indicated  by  his 
type  of  chin,  the  pure  convex  is  impulsive,  expends 
his  energy  too  rapidly  for  his  limited  endurance, 
and,  owing  to  his  lack  of  self-control  and  disinclina- 
tion to  deliberate  and  reason,  frequently  blunders, 
and  expends  his  energy  uselessly  or  unprofitably 
or  even  harmfully.  Being  of  such  a  keen,  ener- 
getic, impatient,  practical  nature  himself,  the  ex- 
treme convex  has  a  stimulating  and  oftentimes  an 
irritating  effect  upon  others.  The  impression  he 
makes  is  always  positive,  whether  that  of  refresh- 
ing frankness  and  stimulating  energy,  or  offensive 
sharpness  and  irritating  activity. 

THE  CONCAVE  FACE 

The  pure  concave,  as  might  be  expected,  is  the 
exact  opposite,  so  far  as  the  indications  of  form  are 
concerned,  of  the  pure  convex.  The  keynote  of 
his  character  is  mildness.  His  concave  nose  is  an 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  159 

indication  of  moderate  or  deficient  energy.  He  is 
slow  of  thought,  slow  of  action,  patient  in  disposi- 
tion, plodding.  As  indicated  by  his  concave  fore- 
head, he  thinks  far  better  than  he  sees  or  hears,  and 
is  therefore  liable  to  fits  of  absent-mindedness,  day- 
dreaming, and  meditation.  He  thinks  carefully, 
seeks  out  the  reasons  for  things.  He  is  more  inter- 
ested in  the  reasons  for  facts  than  in  the  facts 
themselves.  His  broad,  deep,  concave  chin  indi- 
cates maturity,  self-control,  deliberation,  slowness 
to  act,  determination,  and  persistence,  as  well  as 
great  powers  of  mental  and  physical  endurance. 
His  concave  mouth  indicates  a  slow,  easy,  reliable 
digestion,  and,  perhaps  for  that  reason,  a  large 
freedom  from  irritability,  and  consequent  tendency 
to  mildness,  tactfulness,  and  diplomacy  of  speech. 

What  the  convex  wins  or  gains  by  his  aggres- 
siveness, keenness,  and  superabundance  of  energy, 
the  concave  wins  or  gains  by  his  diplomacy  and  i 
unwavering  persistence  and  endurance.  Whereas, 
the  effect  of  the  pure  convex  upon  others  is  positive, 
and  either  stimulating  or  irritating,  the  effect  of 
the  pure  concave  is  negative  and  soothing,  although 
his  extreme  deliberation  may  at  times  be  irritating 
to  the  impatient. 

Because  of  his  deficient  energy,  because  of  his 
great  deliberation,  because  of  his  few  spoken  and 
written  words,  and  deficiency  in  self-advertisement, 


160       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

because  he  lacks  aggressiveness,  the  concave  is  sel- 
dom found  among  men  of  achievement  and  prom- 
inence. The  convex  is  also,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  a  blond.  The  combination  of  hopeful, 
optimistic,  restless,  organizing,  creating,  domineer- 
ing characteristics  of  the  blond  with  the  quick,  alert, 
practical,  aggressive  qualities  of  the  convex,  make 
this  type  distinctively  the  type  of  action  and  tangible 
accomplishment.  The  concave  brunette  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly rare  type  among  famous  men.  Whenever 
one  is  found  he  has  achieved  fame  through  either 
philosophy  or  religion  —  requiring  deep,  abstruse 
thought,  or  some  form  of  art — requiring  years  of  pa- 
tient plodding,  and  detailed,  specialized  application. 

THE    PLANE    FACE 

The  individual  whose  face  is  modelled  upon  the. 
plane  hi  form  —  the  plane  of  his  face  being  parallel 
with  his  spinal  column  —  is  a  balance  between  the 
extreme  convex  and  the  extreme  concave.  In  this 
individual  we  find  moderate  energy,  a  type  of  intel- 
lect which,  while  not  so  intensely  practical  as  that 
of  the  extreme  convex,  has  a  good  degree  of  the 
practical  combined  with  reasonableness  and  bal- 
anced judgment.  The  plane  type  has  neither  the 
"hair-trigger"  impulsiveness  of  the  extreme  convex 
nor  the  procrastinating  deliberation  of  the  extreme 
concave,  but  is  a  balance  between  the  two.  The 


/ 


M 


Photograph  by  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 


Fig.  13.     Judge  Ben.  B.  Lindsey.     A  fine  example  of  men- 
tal type.     Observe  triangular  face 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  161 

plane,  also,  is  neither  extremely  quick  nor  extremely 
slow,  but  moderate  in  his  movements  and  in  his 
thinking.  He  expresses  himself  well,  and  some- 
times frankly,  but  seldom  harshly  or  sharply.  He 
is  inclined  to  be  patient,  but  has  decided  ideas  as  to 
when  patience  ceases  to  be  a  virtue. 

Nearly  all  people  approach  this  balanced  or 
plane  type.  It  is  a  law  established  by  many  experi- 
menters and  investigators  that  the  great  majority 
of  individuals  is  to  be  found  at  the  mean  of  any 
variation,  and  in  rapidly  decreasing  numbers  to- 
ward the  extremes.  There  are,  therefore,  among 
normal  white  people,  a  few  pure  plane,  a  great 
many  moderately  convex,  some  moderately  con- 
cave, but  relatively  few  extreme  convex,  and  a  still 
smaller  portion  of  extreme  concave.  Those  who 
are  moderately  concave  manifest  the  character- 
istics of  the  concave  in  a  moderate  degree;  those 
who  are  moderately  convex  manifest  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  convex  in  moderate  degree;  and, 
naturally,  the  greater  the  degree  of  convexity  or 
concavity  the  greater  the  degree  of  the  manifesta- 
tion of  their  respective  characteristics. 

As  in  applying  the  laws  of  colour,  so  in  applying 
those  of  form  it  is  not  difficult  for  the  novice  to 
find  apparent  exceptions.  For  the  trained  observer 
this  is  not  so  easy.  Exceptions  are  always  merely 
apparent  —  never  real. 


162        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Convex  features  are  often  associated,  in  the  same 
face,  with  concave  or  plane  features.  One  man 
may  have  a  convex  forehead  and  nose,  and  a  con- 
cave mouth  and  chin.  Another  man  may  have  a 
concave  forehead  and  nose,  and  a  convex  mouth  and 
chin.  Still  another  may  have  concave  forehead, 
mouth,  and  chin,  and  convex  nose.  In  all  such 
cases,  the  interpretation  is  made  by  observing  the 
degree  of  convexity  or  concavity  of  each  feature, 
and  drawing  conclusions  based  on  the  evolution  of 
form.  Practice  is  necessary  to  facility  in  drawing 
these  conclusions. 

SIZE 

In  treating  colour  and  form  we  have  gone  into 
considerable  detail,  as  to  both  the  evolutionary 
causes  and  indications.  This  has  been  for  the 
purpose  of  making  clear  our  method  of  investiga- 
tion and  method  of  treatment.  While  the  same 
methods  have  been  used  in  studying  the  other  seven 
variables,  perhaps  we  have  made  them  sufficiently 
clear  and  may  omit  more  than  a  passing  mention  of 
causes  and  indications  in  this  treatise. 

Size  is  one  of  the  most  easily  observable  of  all  a 
man's  physical  attributes,  and  the  place  a  man 
should  occupy,  and  the  work  he  can  do  with  relation 
to  his  size,  ought  to  be  too  obvious  for  comment. 
It  is  a  fact,  however,  which  any  one  can  demon- 


Copyright,  by  Underwood  &  Underwood. 

Fig.  14.     Hon.  Wm.  G.  McAdoo.     An  example  of  the  motive 

type 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  163 

strata  for  himself  by  visiting  any  factory,  that  fore- 
men sometimes  put  little  spiderlike  men  at  work 
handling  big  trucks,  to  the  mutual  disadvantage 
of  both  employer  and  employee.  Tall  men  are 
hired  to  do  work  that  requires  constant  stooping; 
short  men  for  jobs  where  they  have  to  reach  up, 
stretching  themselves  to  the  point  of  discomfort 
and  exhaustion. 

In  this  connection,  Frank  B.  Gilbreth  says: 
"Size  of  men  with  relation  to  their  motions  has 
much  more  influence  than  is  usually  realized. 
Short  men  are  usually  the  best  shovellers  where 
the  shovelful  need  not  be  raised  much  in  doing  the 
work,  such  as  in  mixing  mortar  and  concrete. 
Few  foremen  realize  that  this  is  because  a  short 
man  does  fewer  foot-pounds  of  work  in  the  same 
amount  of  shovelling.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
men  are  shovelling  in  a  trench,  the  taller  the  man, 
usually,  the  more  output  per  man."*  Much  stoop- 
ing or  bending  soon  fatigues  a  tall  man.  Reaching 
for  things  beyond  his  height  is  tiresome  to  the  short 
man.  The  tall  man  with  long  legs  will  cover  dis- 
tances or  do  standing  work  well.  The  heavy,  vital 
man  must  do  the  bulk  of  his  work  while  sitting. 
It  is  a  great  mistake  to  put  a  heavy  man  in  work 
which  requires  him  to  be  much  on  his  feet,  unless 
he  is  exceptionally  well-muscled. 

""Motion  Study."  page  36. 


164        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

SIZE    AND    CHARACTER 

The  foregoing  refers  only  to  the  physical  con- 
siderations of  size.  The  influence  of  size  upon 
character  is  readily  understood  when  the  intimate 
relation  between  muscular  action,  organic  reaction, 
and  emotion  is  borne  in  mind.  It  is  a  fundamen- 
tal law  of  physics  that  small  bodies  have  less  inertia 
than  large  —  that  is  to  say,  they  get  under  way 
more  quickly  and  move  more  rapidly  in  response 
to  the  application  of  the  same  degree  of  energy 
than  large  bodies.  The  small  man's  muscular 
activities  and  organic  reactions,  therefore,  are 
in  general  quicker  and  more  rapid  than  the  large 
man's.  Granting  that  Professor  James  is  right 
in  saying  that  the  cause  of  emotion  is  physiological, 
undersized  individuals'  emotions  are  more  readily 
and  more  quickly  aroused  than  the  oversized,  other 
things  being  equal.  Pathological  conditions  may 
make  a  small  man  slow  and  unresponsive  emotion- 
ally. Other  pathological  conditions  may  make  a 
large  man  irritable  and  easily  excited,  but  normally, 
and  in  general,  our  researches  have  proved  that 
considerations  of  physiology  and  psychology  are 
reliable.  On  the  other  hand,  the  law  of  momen- 
tum holds  true  in  this  case,  and  the  large  man  when 
once  aroused  is  often  more  intense  in  his  emotions 
and  cools  off  far  more  slowly  than  the  small 
man. 


Fig.  15.     Ex-President  William  H.  Taft.     A  splendid  example 
of  the  vital  type,  with  judicial  aptitudes 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  165 

STRUCTURE 

The  structure  of  man  in  general  is  determined 
by  the  relative  degree  of  development  and  use  of 
three  of  his  chief  functional  systems  —  namely,  (1) 
brain  and  nervous  system,  (2)  muscular  and  bony 
system,  (3)  digestive  and  nutritive  system. 

MENTAL   TYPE 

When  the  brain  and  nervous  system  are  most 
highly  developed  as  the  result  of  both  heredity  and 
environment,  the  head  is  relatively  large  in  pro- 
portion to  the  body,  especially  in  the  upper  sec- 
tion, in  extreme  cases  resembling  a  pear  —  with 
the  large  end  up.  See  figure  13.  The  bones 
and  muscles  are  slight  and  delicate;  the  features 
finely  chiselled;  the  shoulders  often  narrow  and 
sloping;  the  hair  fine  in  texture,  and  scanty.  In- 
deed, the  general  appearance  of  the  extreme  type 
of  excessive  development  of  brain  and  nervous 
system  gives  one  the  impression  that  the  whole 
physical  organism  has  been  subordinated  to  brain. 
People  of  this  type  have  neither  the  strength  nor 
the  endurance  for  heavy  manual  labour  and,  since 
in  addition  they  are  principally  interested  in  intel- 
lectual, artistic,  literary,  scientific,  philosophical, 
and  other  purely  mental  subjects,  they  dislike 
physical  effort,  and  are  discontented  and  unhappy 
if  obliged  to  earn  their  living  by  manual  labour. 


1G6        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

The  type,  of  course,  includes  several  grades  of 
mentality.  Merely  cataloguing  a  person  in  this 
classification  does  not  mean  he  is  an  intellectual 
giant.  If  his  qualities  are  moderate,  he  finds  his 
appropriate  niche  in  some  form  of  clerical  work; 
he  is  a  bookkeeper,  a  cashier,  a  stenographer;  per- 
haps a  private  secretary.  If  he  has  more  marked 
talents  he  may  rise  to  positions  that  demand  the 
alert,  inventive  mind;  he  develops  into  one  of  those 
useful  persons  recognized  as  "having  ideas."  He 
may  be  the  man  whose  active  suggestions  keep  the 
business  constantly  forging  ahead.  If  he  is  a 
lawyer,  he  is  usually  the  kind  known  as  the  "consult- 
ant"; he  is  an  expert  at  writing  briefs;  knows  all  the 
precedents  for  a  hundred  years  back,  and  usually 
furnishes  the  court  the  points  upon  which  it  decides 
the  case.  As  a  medical  man,  he  is  the  scientist 
with  eye  constantly  glued  on  the  microscope.  He 
can  discover  new  things  for  others  to  do  and  even 
tell  how  to  do  them. 

THE  MOTIVE  TYPE 

Just  as  the  brain  and  nervous  systems  are  highly 
developed  by  activity,  so  is  the  muscular  and  bony 
system.  The  whole  make-up  of  the  man  who 
"does  things"  suggests  activity.  Muscularity  is 
his  predominant  physical  capital.  His  face  is 
square  rather  than  triangular.  Upon  the  body 


Fig.  16.     Henry  Woodruff.     An  example  of  fine  texture 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  167 

there  is  little  surplus  flesh.  It  is  broadest  at  the 
squarely  set  shoulders,  from  which  it  tapers  to  the 
feet.  See  figure  14  (Hon.  Wm.  G.  McAdoo.  An 
Example  of  the  Motive  Type) .  The  key-note  of  this 
type  of  man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl,  is  physical  activ- 
ity. They  enjoy  physical  exercise,  love  the  open  air, 
and  are  well  fitted  for  outdoor  pursuits  of  all  kinds. 
The  motive  type  loves  motion,  speed,  physical  con- 
test, movement.  Athletes  in  general,  including 
football  players,  baseball  players,  runners,  skat- 
ers, rowers,  pugilists,  acrobats,  tennis  players,  and 
polo  players  show  this  type  of  development.  Since 
they  love  speed  and  contest,  people  of  this  type 
should  train  and  drive  horses,  build  and  drive 
automobiles,  invent  and  pilot  aeroplanes  and  motor 
boats,  race  on  bicycles  and  motorcycles,  and  build 
and  operate  railroads,  factories,  dams,  canals, 
bridges,  tunnels,  buildings  of  all  kinds,  ships,  and 
engage  in  all  other  phases  of  active  construction 
and  transportation.  Since  they  enjoy  and  under- 
stand motion,  people  of  this  type  are  mechanical. 
Even  babies  of  motive  indications  manifest  an 
intense  interest  in  anything  that  works  often  be- 
fore they  learn  to  walk  or  talk.  People  of  this  type, 
therefore,  excel  in  inventing,  designing,  building,  in- 
stalling, and  operating  machinery  of  all  kinds.  In 
short,  the  motive  type  is  qualified  for  either  direct- 
ing or  performing  every  kind  of  physical  work  and 


168       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

activity,  including  farming,  mining,  manufacturing, 
transportation,  construction,  and  exploration. 

The  natural  love  of  outdoor  activity  in  these 
people  leads  them  to  become  soldiers  and  sailors. 
All  of  our  great  generals  and  admirals  have  been 
pure  examples  or  modifications  of  this  type.  Be- 
cause of  their  great  activity  and  love  of  speed  and 
motion,  people  in  whom  the  bony  and  muscular 
system  is  well  developed  cannot  endure  restraint. 
From  loving  and  demanding  physical  liberty  there 
is  scarcely  a  step  to  a  love  of  and  demand  for  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  This  element,  therefore,  is 
strong  in  all  martyrs,  reformers,  great  leaders,  and 
pioneers  in  all  kinds  of  human  liberty,  and  in  all 
ages.  Washington,  Lincoln,  Emerson,  Whitman, 
Luther,  Cromwell,  Franklin,  WTendell  Phillips,  Gar- 
rison, Gladstone,  Elbert  Hubbard,  Roosevelt,  and 
Woodrow  Wilson  are  good  examples  of  modifica- 
tions of  the  motive  type. 

The  motive  man  is  just  about  as  il" -fitted  to  be 
confined  for  long  hours  day  after  day  in  an  office 
as  the  man  of  extreme  intellectual  type  is  for  hard, 
physical  work.  He  demands  a  considerable  amount 
of  physical  activity  and  is  neither  happy  nor  heal  thy 
unless  he  gets  it.  Usually  the  motive  ir  'ividual  is 
skilful  with  his  hands  and  fingers.  When  he  is 
otherwise  fitted  for  it,  he  produces  wonderfully 
fine  needlework,  mosaic,  jewelry  and  other  similar 


Fig.  17.     Maxim  Gorky.     An  example  of  coarse  texture 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  169 

products.  There  is  a  large  development  of  this 
element  in  the  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  East  Indians. 
The  embroideries,  laces,  hand  carvings,  mosaics, 
filigrees,  and  other  objects  of  art  produced  by  these 
peoples  are  famous  the  world  over. 

Motive  boys  and  girls  are  liable  to  resent  the 
confinement  and  restraint  of  school.  They  are 
often  impatient  to  leave  its  mental  activities  in 
which  they  are  only  mildly  interested  at  best,  and 
begin  immediately  their  active  work.  The  result 
is  that  thousands  of  them  forever  miss  opportuni- 
ties that  might  be  theirs  were  they  only  better 
educated.  They  are  thus  forced  to  remain  for 
life  in  subordinate  positions,  doing  mere  physical 
drudgery.  Vocational  training,  giving  plenty  of 
opportunity  to  work  with  their  hands  and  to  de- 
velop their  inherent  mechanical,  engineering,  or 
inventive  ability,  will  solve  a  serious  and  vital  prob- 
lem for  multitudes  of  boys  and  girls  of  this  type. 

THE  VITAL  TYPE 

When  the  digestive  and  nutritive  system  is  most 
highly  developed  and  most  used  in  proportion  to 
the  other  organs  and  functions  of  the  body,  the 
whole  person  gives  evidence  of  being  well  nour- 
ished. The  individual  of  this  type,  therefore,  has 
a  head  comparatively  small  in  proportion  to  the 
body;  cheeks  full  and  well  rounded,  giving  the  face 


170  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
and  head  a  circular  or  pear  shape  —  with  the  big 
end  down  (see  figure  15);  chin  full  and  often 
double;  body  modelled  upon  the  circle,  large  around 
the  waist  and  tapering  to  feet  and  shoulders ;  limbs 
round  and  short;  hands  and  feet  well  covered  with 
flesh  so  that  the  bones  and  muscles  do  not  show; 
health  usually  robust;  movement  slow  and  deliber- 
ate. The  extreme  of  this  type  is  corpulent.  This 
is  the  vital  type. 

The  predominating  characteristic  of  the  vital 
type  is  enjoyment  of  the  good  things  of  life.  He 
likes  to  eat  and  drink.  He  loves  ease  and  comfort. 
Muscular  activity  is  distasteful  to  him.  He  often 
dislikes  prolonged,  severe  mental  work.  Since  vital 
people  do  not  like  to  work  physically  or  mentally, 
and  yet  crave  all  of  the  best  products  of  work, 
the  only  way  they  can  gratify  their  desires  is  by 
directing  the  work  of  others. 

The  men  who  have  the  natural  ability  to  sit  in 
comfortable  chairs  and  direct  the  mental  and  phys- 
ical activities  of  thousands  of  others,  reaping  for 
themselves  great  rewards,  are  usually  of  this  well- 
nourished  type.  Since  the  vital  type  is  interested 
in  good  things  to  eat,  fine  and  comfortable  things 
to  wear,  and  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  gener- 
ally, he  enjoys  handling  them  and  is  able  to  interest 
other  people  in  them.  People  of  this  type  are 
therefore  fitted  to  succeed  as  butchers,  bakers, 


.  ANALYZING  THE  MAN  171 

chefs,  grocers,  produce  and  commission  merchants* 
Modifications  of  this  type  are  well  qualified  for  the 
dry  goods  and  clothing  business,  and  indeed  for  all 
retail  and  wholesale  merchandising,  large  and  small. 
Since  the  handling  of  money  gives  a  very  large 
degree  of  control  over  the  activities  of  other  men, 
and  since  also  money  is  the  medium  of  exchange  for 
many  of  the  good  things  of  life,  the  finances  of  the 
world  are  controlled  very  largely  by  men  of  the 
rounded,  well-nourished  type.  Morgan,  Schiff, 
Stillman,  Vanderlip,  Ryan,  Belmont,  Hill,  and  many 
other  financiers  show  considerable  development  of 
the  vital  element. 

The  large  man,  as  we  have  seen,  is  slow  of  move- 
ment, ^with  comparatively  slow  circulation  and 
respiration.  It  may  be  for  that  reason  that  he  is 
also  calm,  deliberate,  unhurried,  and  not  easily  or 
readily  excited.  The  well-nourished  man,  other 
things  being  equal,  is  comfortable  and  free  from 
nervous  irritability  as  well  as  from  apprehension 
and  worry  as  to  his  personal  well-being.  It  may 
be  for  these  reasons  that  men  of  this  type  so  often 
have  unprejudiced,  judicial  minds  and  are  able  to 
weigh  all  evidence  carefully  and  impartially,  and 
reason  to  a  just  and  logical  conclusion.  Well- 
rounded,  full-bodied  men  are  often  well  fitted  to  be 
judges,  referees,  justices,  arbitrators,  and  in  general, 
to  exercise  judicial  functions. 


172  ,     THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

-^ 

Among  other  good  things  that  men  of  this  type 
enjoy  is  a  good  laugh,  and  the  society  and  friend- 
ship of  other  people.  They  are  proverbially  jolly, 
good-natured,  sociable,  friendly,  and  fond  of  good 
stories.  They  are  therefore  likely  to  be  successful 
in  politics.  If  they  are  writers  or  speakers  they 
are  frequently  well  known  for  their  wit  and  humour. 

There  are  all  degrees  of  relative  development  of 
brain  and  nervous  system,  muscular  and  bony 
system,  and  digestive  and  nutritive  system  in  in- 
dividuals. In  some,  one  of  these  is  highly  devel- 
oped and  the  other  two  deficient  —  in  others,  all 
three  about  equally  developed.  In  all  cases  the 
characteristics  of  the  three  types  are  shown  in  di- 
rect proportion  to  the  degree  of  development  of 
each  of  the  three  physical  systems. 

TEXTURE 

Texture  refers  to  the  degree  of  fineness  or  coarse- 
ness of  fibre  or  grain  in  the  individual,  especially 
as  seen  in  hair,  skin,  nails,  features,  hands,  feet,  and 
general  body  build.  Human  beings,  as  can  be 
readily  ascertained  by  casual  observation,  are 
coarse  or  fine  in  texture,  just  as  fabrics  or  woods  or 
metals  or  stones  are.  According  to  both  biology 
and  embryology,  the  human  brain  and  nervous 
system  are  but  specialized  inturned  skin.  The 
first  sign  of  the  nervous  system  in  the  scale  of 


Fig.  18.     Theodore  Roosevelt  in  early  manhood 


Fig.  19.     Theodore  Roosevelt  in  middle  life.    Observe  changes 

in  expression 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  173 

evolution  is  the  sensitive  cell  wall  of  a  one-cell 
organism.  The  brain  and  spinal  cord  in  the  human 
embryo  begin  in  a  groove  upon  the  surface,  which 
deepens  until  it  forms  a  channel,  and  still  further 
deepens  until  it  becomes  a  tube.  This  tube  is  the 
embryonic  brain  and  spinal  cord.  Texture  of  skin 
and  texture  of  brain  and  nervous  system  are  there- 
fore probably  related.  While  the  exact  nature  of 
brain  and  nervous  function  is  not  known,  and  there 
is  no  scientific  evidence  that  texture  of  brain  and 
nervous  system  causes  variations  in  aptitudes, 
disposition,  character,  and  preferences,  extensive 
investigation  and  verification,  however,  have  shown 
that  differences  in  texture  of  hair,  skin,  nails, 
features,  hands,  and  feet,  and  general  body  build, 
are  uniformly  accompanied  by  differences  in  apti- 
tudes, character,  and  preferences. 

The  individual  of  jfine  texture  (see  figures  16  and 
£0)  is  sensitive  and  responsive.  He  loves  beauty. 
He  will  not  work  happily  and  efficiently  in  coarse, 
unlovely,  harsh  surroundings;  nor  will  he  be  at 
his  best  handling  coarse,  heavy,  unbeautiful  tools 
or  materials.  He  likes  to  do  literary,  artistic,  or 
scientific  work,  or  to  handle  fine  machinery,  beauti- 
ful tools,  silks  and  satins,  objects  of  art,  jewelry  > 
delicate,  light,  and  artistic  work.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  man  of  coarse  texture  (see  figure  17),  a 
man  whose  hair,  skin,  features,  hands,  and  body 


174       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

generally,  as  well  as  his  clothing  and  manner  of 
speech,  all  indicate  that  he  is  of  the  "rough  and 
ready"  type,  and  not  sensitive,  can  work  happily 
and  efficiently  in  the  midst  of  dirt  and  grime.  He 
handles  with  vigour  and  effectiveness  heavy,  un- 
refined materials  and  massive  machinery. 

CONSISTENCY 

Under  the  head  of  consistency  we  consider  the 
hardness,  softness,  or  elasticity  of  bodily  tissues. 
It  has  never  been  scientifically  demonstrated  that 
natural  hardness  and  density  of  muscular  fibre  are 
associated  with  relative  hardness  and  density  of 
brain  and  nerve.  However,  there  are  good  reasons 
for  supposing  that  this  may  be  the  case. 

Physiological  psychologists  agree  that  mental 
and  psychical  functions  and  conditions  are  ac- 
companied by  actual  physical  movements  and 
changes  in  the  brain  and  nervous  structure.  That 
which  is  hard  and  dense  resists  pressure  and  is  slow 
to  change.  That  which  is  elastic  yields  more 
readily  to  pressure  but  springs  back  when  pres- 
sure is  removed.  That  which  is  soft  yields  readily 
and  quickly  to  pressure  and  is  easily  changed. 

Whether  or  not  variations  in  character  are 
caused  by  hardness,  elasticity,  or  softness  of  brain 
and  nervous  tissue,  extensive  observations  demon* 
strate  that  the  man  of  hard  bodily  fibre  is  difficult 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  175 

to  impress,  unresponsive,  slow  to  change.  He 
is  the  man  who  is  picturesquely  enough  called 
hard-headed  and  hard-hearted.  He  does  not 
adapt  himself  easily  to  circumstances  and  condi- 
tions. He  is,  as  it  were,  brittle,  and  breaks  rather 
than  bends  or  yields.  Inasmuch  as  hard  muscles  are 
naturally  energetic,  the  individual  of  this  consistency 
has  hard,  relentless,  driving,  crushing  energy. 

The  individual  of  elastic  consistency  of  bodily 
fibre  has  the  same  springiness,  life,  vigour,  resil- 
ience, and  recuperative  power  which  is  felt  when  his 
hand  is  grasped.  He  has  normal  energy,  is  adapt- 
able and  capable  of  yielding  a  point  for  the  sake 
of  harmony.  When  pressure  is  removed  from  him, 
however,  he  has  a  tendency  to  return  to  his  origi- 
nal state. 

The  individual  of  soft  consistency  is  impression- 
able, easily  influenced,  vacillating,  and,  unless 
braced  up  from  the  outside  or  kept  in  a  sheltered 
position,  is  liable  to  yield  to  temptation.  Such  an 
individual  is  deficient  in  energy,  does  not  like  hard 
manual  labour  and  cannot  endure  hardships.  If  his 
softness  is  so  extreme  as  to  be  flabbiness,  he  is  a  lazy, 
idle  dreamer  and  easily  becomes  a  chronic  invalid. 

PROPORTION 

Proportion  refers  to  head  shape  and  the  relative 
degree  of  development  of  different  sections  of  the 


176        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

face,  head,  and  body.  This  variable  is  subject  to 
most  intricate  and  complex  variations  which  afford 
more  detailed  and  specific  information  than  the 
indications  of  any  other  variable.  For  this  reason 
its  adequate  treatment  would  be  too  voluminous 
for  a  work  of  this  character. 

EXPRESSION 

"Normally,"  says  Mantegazza,  "every  thought 
and  emotion  takes  form  in  action.  A  transitory 
emotion  has  a  fugitive  expression  which  leaves  no 
trace,  but  when  it  is  repeated  several  tijnes  it  leaves 
on  the  face  and  other  parts  of  the  body  an  expres- 
sion which  may  reveal  to  us  a  page  of  the  man's 
history."  Since  this  is  true,  the  careful,  studious 
observer  may  learn  to  detect  in  the  expression  of 
people  not  only  their  passing,  but  their  permanent, 
emotions  and  moods,  and  learn  to  recognize  the 
indications  of  the  more  subtle. 

A  marked  illustration  of  the  effect  of  experience 
and  its  accompanying  emotions  and  mental  proc- 
esses upon  expression  is  graphically  shown  in  figures 
18  and  19,  photographs  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  one 
taken  in  his  early  manhood,  the  other  recently.  A 
study  of  the  eyes,  mouth,  cheeks,  and  brows  will  show 
the  increase  in  concentration, determination,  tenac- 
ity, intensity,  and  pugnacity  during  a  few  years 
of  the  "strenuous  life." 


Fig.  20.     An  example  of  fine  texture,  concave  mouth  and  chin 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  177 

Expression  shows  itself  not  only  in  the  features, 
but  in  every  movement,  every  gesture,  the  gait, 
the  handshake,  the  carriage,  handwriting,  and  in 
many  other  ways.  Everything  a  man  does,  says, 
thinks,  or  feels  is  because  of  the  reaction  of  his 
particular  combination  of  physical,  mental,  and 
psychical  traits  to  external  and  internal  stimuli. 
Everything  he  does,  therefore,  is  an  indication 
of  his  character;  and,  since,  as  Mantegazza  says, 
a  man's  thoughts,  feelings,  words,  and  acts,  all 
leave  their  traces  in  his  face  and  upon  his  body,  the 
careful  student  soon  learns  to  read  these  signs  as 
one  reads  a  book. 

CONDITION 

Colour,  form,  size,  structure,  texture,  consist- 
ency, and  proportion  disclose  to  the  practised  eye 
principally  the  inherent  aptitudes,  traits,  and  char- 
acteristics of  the  individual.  Expression  indicates 
to  a  large  extent  what  the  individual  has  done  with 
his  heritage  and  what  life  has  done  to  him.  The 
condition  of  his  body,  clothing,  and  personal  sur- 
roundings indicates  his  physical  and  mental  habits. 

Neat  and  well-brushed  exteriors  are  not  neces- 
sarily the  signs  of  marked  abilities  —  some  of  the 
ablest  men,  as  we  all  know,  have  shamefully  neg- 
lected their  wardrobes  —  but  they  do  mean  that 
the  wearer  is  painstaking  and  systematic,  and  that 


178        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

he  possesses  a  certain  degree  of  self-respect.  Care- 
lessness in  dress,  however,  always  indicates  busi- 
ness laxity.  A  thrifty  housewife  reveals  the  fact 
in  her  own  appearance  as  well  as  in  that  of  her 
establishment;  and  a  bookkeeper  who  keeps  his 
clothes  well  pressed  and  makes  occasional  trips 
to  the  barber  is  more  likely  than  not  to  balance  his 
books.  Loud  clothes,  startling  neckties,  flam 
boy  ant  effects  in  waistcoats  and  socks,  when  they 
are  not  merely  the  stigmata  of  adolescence,  mark 
a  man  as  vain  and  self-centred. 

Condition  of  body  is  naturally  an  excellent  indi- 
cation of  the  state  of  health  of  the  individual  and 
reveals  much  to  the  practised  eye. 

CONTRADICTIONS  OF  NATURAL  LAW  ONLY  APPARENT 

These,  then,  are  the  nine  variables.  Each  of 
them  is  subject  to  many  kinds  and  degrees  of  varia- 
tion, with  corresponding  variations  in  character. 
It  is  because  of  the  permutation  and  combination 
of  these  variations  that  billions  of  human  beings  — 
those  who  have  lived  on  the  earth  and  are  living 
on  it  to-day  —  have  each  his  own  peculiar  appear- 
ance and  character.  There  are  no  duplicates. 

A  study  and  observation  of  any  one  of  the  nine 
variables  reveals  much  in  regard  to  the  individual, 
but  it  does  not  reveal  all.  One  of  the  most  difficult 
of  all  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome  by  the  novice 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  179 

in  analysis  is  the  temptation  to  judge  an  individual 
solely  by  the  indications  of  one  variable,  or  two,  or 
even  three.  Everything  about  a  man  indicates  his 
character.  Everything  is  significant.  There  can 
be  no  accurate  or  reliable  analysis  unless  all  nine 
variables  are  understood  and  their  significance  duly 
considered.  It  is  perfectly  natural  that  the  reader 
of  this  chapter  should  attempt  to  apply  its  prin- 
ciples to  himself  and  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. In  doing  so  he  will  doubtless  find  many 
apparent  discrepancies  and  contradictions,  but 
these  discrepancies  and  contradictions  are  only 
apparent.  The  laws  of  human  nature,  like  all  other 
laws  of  nature,  are  orderly  and  uniform  in  their 
operation,  and  do  not  admit  of  exceptions.  In  our 
own  experience  every  apparent  exception  has  turned 
out  to  be  either  faulty  observation  or  mistaken 
judgment.  A  man  of  scientific  mind  carefully 
scrutinizes  the  evidence,  verifies  every  observa- 
tion, and  examines  every  link  in  the  chain  of  his 
reasoning  until  he  has  found  everything  sound  be- 
fore he  reaches  his  conclusions.  Therefore,  if  he 
encounters  a  seeming  contradiction  of  a  known 
law,  he  does  not  rest  until  he  has  discovered  the 
flaw  in  either  his  premises  or  his  conclusion. 

One  spring,  several  years  ago,  we  watched  the 
careful  researches  of  a  scientist  into  the  physical 
characteristics  of  a  beautiful  lake  in  Wisconsin. 


180        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Among  other  things,  he  learned  to  his  astonish- 
ment that  the  water  on  the  surface  of  the  lake,  and 
for  perhaps  a  few  feet  below,  was  several  degrees 
colder  than  the  water  in  the  bottom  of  the  lake. 
Now,  it  is  a  law  of  physics  that  the  specific  gravity 
of  cold  water  is  greater  than  the  specific  gravity  of 
warm  water.  In  popular  language,  cold  water  is 
heavier  than  warm  water.  Therefore  the  cold 
water  should  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake, 
and  the  warm  water  upon  the  surface.  For  a  time 
the  scientist  was  puzzled.  Here  was  an  important 
apparent  exception  to  a  known  and  demonstrable 
physical  law.  Carefully  and  painstakingly  the 
scientist  took  the  temperature  readings  in  all  parts 
of  the  surface  and  deeper  waters  of  the  lake,  veri- 
fying his  original  findings.  The  results  were  the 
same.  With  equal  care  he  went  over  every  link 
in  his  chain  of  reasoning  regarding  the  phenomenon 
trying  to  discover  if  possible  a  cause  for  the  seem- 
ing contradiction.  Finally  he  told  us:  "The  con- 
dition is  an  unusual  one.  There  has  been  prac- 
tically no  wind  for  several  days.  The  lake  has  no 
large  inlet.  Two  weeks  of  low  atmospheric  tem- 
perature, following  a  month  of  unusually  warm 
weather,  have  cooled  the  surface  waters.  There 
being  no  wind  and  very  little  inflowing  water  to  set 
up  currents,  the  cold  water  on  the  top  and  the 
warm  water  underneath  are  in  a  state  of  equilibrium, 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  181 

and  until  there  is  some  other  force  applied  to  set 
up  convection  currents  this  heavy  mass  of  cold 
water  will  stand  balanced,  as  it  were,  upon  the 
lighter  mass  of  warm  water  underneath.  The 
weather  bureau  reports  fresh  southwesterly  winds 
to-morrow,  and  by  to-morrow  night  I  expect  to 
find  the  cold  water  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake  and 
the  warm  water  on  the  surface.  And  all  day  to- 
morrow you  will  find  strong  convection  currents 
flowing  upward  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  lake, 
and  downward  on  the  northeast  side."  He  was 
right.  The  next  day  he  was  able  to  show  us  by 
pieces  of  paper  suspended  in  the  water  the  cur- 
rents he  had  promised,  while  registering  thermome- 
ters in  different  parts  of  the  lake  indicated  that  the 
rest  of  his  predictions  had  come  to  pass. 

In  a  similar  way,  the  truly  scientific  observer  of 
human  nature  is  never  disconcerted  by  any  appar- 
ent contradictions  of  its  laws,  but  continues  his 
investigations  until  he  finds  out  why.  The  im- 
portance of  carefully  weighing  the  indications  of 
each  of  the  nine  variables,  and  the  significance  of 
their  combination  in  the  individual,  may  be  made 
clear  by  a  chemical  analogy. 

A    CHEMICAL   ANALOGY 

A  student  of  chemistry  may  learn  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  oxygen,  carbon,  and  hydrogen,  but 


182        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

he  may  know  nothing  of  the  attributes  of  their 
many  compounds  until  he  has  learned  the  signifi- 
cance of  their  combination  in  different  proportions. 
Just  as  all  human  beings  exhibit  combinations  of 
the  nine  variables  mentioned,  so  all  carbohydrates 
are  combinations  of  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  carbon. 
Just  as  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen  in  one  com- 
pound give  us  fiery,  poisonous  carbolic  acid,  and 
in  different  proportions  sweet,  healing  honey,  so 
the  nine  elements  combined  in  certain  proportions 
may  make  of  one  man  a  degenerate,  thief,  and 
murderer,  and  of  another  man  a  patriotic  and  phil- 
anthropic citizen. 

.  The  analogy  may  be  carried  even  further.  Oxy- 
gen is  a  gas  lighter  than  air,  colourless,  odour- 
less, and  tasteless.  Hydrogen  is  also  a  gas 
very  much  lighter  than  air,  colourless,  odourless, 
and  tasteless.  Carbon  is  a  solid,  and  usually  hard, 
dense,  and  black.  None  of  the  characteristics  of 
any  of  these  three  elements  is  to  be  found  in  but- 
ter, molasses,  phenacetin,  or  oil  of  peppermint. 
Yet  these  three,  and  these  three  only,  are  in  the 
substances  named. 

In  a  similar  way,  combinations  of  the  nine  ele- 
ments of  human  character  in  different  proportions 
yield  characteristics  not  indicated  by  any  one  of 
the  nine.  For  example,  a  man's  honesty,  his  dis- 
position to  loyalty,  his  industry,  his  carefulness. 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  183 

his  conscientious  accuracy,  and  many  other  such 
qualities  cannot  be  determined  by  an  observation 
of  any  one  of  these  nine  variants  alone,  but  can  be 
unerringly  appraised  by  careful  observation  and 
analysis  of  the  proportions  in  which  the  qualities 
indicated  by  the  nine  elements  are  combined. 

It  is  abundantly  clear,  from  the  foregoing,  that 
the  character  analyst  who  attempted  to  judge  of 
the  qualifications  of  any  applicant  for  a  position 
merely  because  he  was  of  fine  texture  and  blond 
complexion,  would  go  as  far  wrong  as  a  chemist 
who  analyzed  a  carbohydrate  quantitatively  for 
carbon  and  hydrogen,  but  neglected  to  do  more 
than  determine  the  presence  of  oxygen. 

Camphor  and  olive  oil  have  approximately  the 
same  proportion  each  of  carbon  and  hydrogen,  but 
because  of  a  slight  difference  in  proportion  of 
oxygen,  and  in  the  manner  of  their  combination, 
one  is  aromatic,  strong  to  the  taste,  and  poisonous, 
while  the  other  is  mild,  soothing,  and  nourishing. 

So  two  men  may  be  almost  exact  counterparts  of 
each  other  in  texture,  size,  form,  colour,  and  con- 
sistency, but  on  account  of  a  difference  in  propor- 
tion, expression,  and  condition,  one  will  be  a  lazy, 
shiftless,  careless,  irresponsible  burden  upon  so- 
ciety, and  the  other  a  successful  financier. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ANALYZING  THE  MAN  —  PRACTICAL   APPLICATION 

THERE  ought  to  be  a  high  membership  idea! 
for  every  plant,  no  newcomer  admitted  who 
is  not  fit  in  every  way,  no  man  cut  off  ex- 
cept for  cause.  .  .  .  If  it  is  a  duty  to  exclude 
the  morally  unfit,  it  is  also  a  duty  to  exclude  more 
vigorously  from  any  particular  occupation  those 
who  are  congenitally  unfitted  to  make  a  success  of 
it.  A  blind  man  may  become  a  self-supporting, 
useful,  and  successful  member  of  society;  a  man 
born  without  legs  may  become  the  successful  owner 
and  operator  of  a  livery  stable,  driving,  harnessing, 
and  unharnessing  horses;  but  a  blind  man  cannot 
act  as  lookout  on  an  ocean  steamer,  the  deaf  man 
cannot  lead  an  orchestra,  and  the  legless  man  can- 
not become  a  foot  racer."  —  HARRINGTON  EMER- 
SON.* 

In  applying  character  analysis  to  the  problems 
of  employment  the  ideals  are:  First,  to  ascertain 
the  health,  aptitudes,  traits,  tendencies,  disposi- 
tion, character,  habits,  training,  and  experience  of 

*"  Twelve  Principles  of  Efficiency,"  pages  154-5. 

184 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  185 

each  applicant  as  expeditiously  and  easily  as  pos- 
sible; second,  to  verify,  check  up,  and  compare  all 
available  data  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  least 
possible  probability  of  error;  third,  to  record  the 
results  of  this  observation  and  analysis  in  permanent 
form  for  future  guidance  and  comparative  study. 
That  these  ideals  may  be  realized  we  have  devised 
and,  after  much  experimentation,  brought  to  their 
present  form  the  Analysis  Blank  shown  on  page  83 
and  the  Application  Blank  shown  on  pages  82  and  83. 

THE    ANALYSIS    BLANK 

When  this  blank  has  been  filled  out  by  a  compe- 
tent examiner,  any  other  worker  in  the  employment 
department  who  understands  the  cipher  gleans 
from  it  such  an  accurate  mental  picture  of  the  ap- 
plicant that,  in  many  cases,  he  could  very  easily 
pick  him  out  of  a  crowd.  In  this  respect,  it  some- 
what resembles  the  portrait  parle  or  "word  pic- 
ture" devised  by  Bertillion,  by  means  of  which  an 
expert  recognizes  the  subject  even  more  surely  than 
he  could  by  means  of  a  photograph.  As  will  be 
seen,  the  space  for  conclusions  gives  the  widest 
possible  latitude  to  the  interviewer.  It  is  to  be 
filled  out  according  to  the  class  and  type  of  appli- 
cant, the  position  he  is  to  take,  the  character  of  his 
future  activities,  and  any  other  pertinent  considera- 
tions. 


186        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

This  blank  provides  for  the  observation  in  the 
applicant  of  each  of  the  nine  variables.  Colour 
is  observed  in  the  hair,  eyes,  skin,  and  beard,  since 
in  detailed  analysis  each  has  its  significance.  Form 
also  is  observed  in  the  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  and  chin. 
The  relative  degree  of  development  of  the  mental, 
motive,  and  vital  elements  is  indicated ;  as  are  also 
texture  and  consistency.  The  capacity  of  intellect 
is  an  important  observation.  A  good  employment 
expert  knows  better  than  to  recommend  a  man  for 
a  position  for  which  he  has  either  too  great  or  too 
little  intelligence.  Proportion,  expression,  and  con- 
dition of  body  and  dress  are  each  recorded. 

When  the  interviewer  has  reached  his  conclusion, 
he  knows  the  applicant's  strongest  and  best  quali- 
ties, also  his  weakest  qualities.  There  are  cer- 
tain weaknesses  which  handicap  a  man  for  any 
work,  and  it  is  necessary  to  keep  a  record  of^these 
when  they  are  found,  and  of  the  degree  of  weak- 
ness in  each  case.  These  may  also  be  set  down  in 
cipher,  known  only  to  the  employment  office. 

Under  "recommendations"  the  interviewer  states 
his  best  judgment  as  the  result  of  his  observations 
of  and  conversation  with  the  applicant,  taking  into 
consideration  not  only  his  record  upon  the  analysis 
blank,  but  also  the  information  given  by  the  appli- 
cant himself  upon  the  application  blank,  and  what  is 
revealed  in  his  interview. 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  187 

CHECKING  AND  COMPARING  DATA 

In  arriving  at  the  conclusions  entered  upon  the 
analysis  blank,  much  valuable  data  are  obtained 
from  the  application  blank,  and  from  the  responses 
of  the  applicant  to  the  questions  on  the  reverse  of 
it.  These  questions  bring  out,  indirectly,  informa- 
tion by  which  the  interviewer's  observations  may 
be  verified  —  or  modified,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Just  at  this  point  it  hardly  seems  necessary  to  state 
that  no  applicant  is  asked  to  write  anything  or 
answer  any  question  if  he  shows  any  disinclination 
to  do  so.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  plan  to  avoid  as 
far  as  possible  anything  that  savours  of  the  third 
degree,  grilling  the  applicant,  asking  him  embar- 
rassing questions,  prying  into  his  private  affairs,  or 
otherwise  alarming  or  offending  him.  As  a  general 
rule,  we  have  found  that  when  kindly  treated,  appli- 
cants willingly  fill  out  these  blanks  and  answer  all 
questions. 

Studied  in  the  light  of  experience  and  knowledge, 
this  application  blank  reveals  much.  The  manner 
in  which  the  applicant  answers  the  questions  put 
to  him  by  the  interviewer  is  carefully  noted  and 
considered.  When  a  man  writes  his  name,  address, 
and  other  items,  he  tells  far  more  about  himself 
than  he  thinks.  Like  voice,  handwriting  is  an  ex- 
pression of  character.  Among  other  indications, 
a  man's  writing  shows  his  expertness  with  a  pen. 


188  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 
While  this  is  not  always  essential,  yet  well-trained 
fingers  show  at  least  latent  ability  to  handle  small 
tools  of  any  kind.  The  rapidity  with  which  he  fills 
in  the  blank  will  indicate,  to  some  degree,  his  quick- 
ness of  thought. 

It  is  obviously  important  to  have  the  appli- 
cant's name.  Aside  from  this,  there  is  much  in  a 
name.  As  a  general  rule,  a  man  has  no  choice  in 
the  matter  of  his  name.  He  may  receive  from  his 
parents  by  inheritance  and  by  gift  the  appellative 
John  Smith,  or  he  may  be  more  gaudily  decorated 
with  Reginald  Algernon  de  la  Rey.  But  the  one 
may  appear  in  after  life  as  Ivan  Smyth,  and  the 
other  as  R.  A.  Delarey.  The  man  who  was  known 
to  the  world  as  Grover  Cleveland  was  named  Ste- 
phen Grover  Cleveland  by  his  parents,  and  Wood- 
row  Wilson  began  life  as  Thomas  Woodrow  Wilson. 

Nationality:  However  much  we  wish  it  other- 
wise, race  and  national  prejudices  and  hatreds  are 
significant,  fundamental,  and  stubborn  facts.  Even 
those  from  different  sections  of  the  same  country 
are  often  antagonistic  and  will  not  work  well  to- 
gether. It  is  dangerous  to  place  north  Italians 
and  south  Italians  in  the  same  gang.  Germans 
and  Englishmen  do  not  harmonize  readily,  nor  do 
Irishmen  and  negroes.  An  acquaintance  with  in- 
ternational affinities  and  enmities  will  be  a  great 
help  in  placing  men. 


,  ANALYZING  THE  MAN  189 

Religion:  In  the  same  way,  and  for  the  same  rea- 
son, it  is  often  desirable  to  know  the  religion  of  the 
applicant.  Roman  Catholics  will  work  best  under 
a  foreman  of  their  own  belief.  In  no  case  is  it  wise 
to  place  in  charge  of  others  any  man  who  makes 
himself  obnoxious  because  of  his  intense  religious 
beliefs.  Both  national  feeling  and  religion  are 
products  of  the  emotions.  Emotions  when  aroused 
are  like  dynamite  —  dangerous  explosives.  Frank 
B.  Gilbreth  says :  "A  bond  of  sympathy  between  the 
workmen  and  the  people  who  are  to  occupy  the 
edifice  upon  which  they  are  working  will  also  in- 
crease the  output."* 

Date  of  Birth:  Many  firms  make  it  a  hard-and- 
fast  rule  not  to  employ  men  beyond  a  certain  age. 
Years  are  not  always  the  test  of  a  man's  age. 
Youthfulness  is  of  the  spirit  and  is  not  measured 
by  calendars  and  birthdays.  The  man  who  looks 
young  for  his  years  is  usually  advancing.  He  who 
looks  older  than  he  should  is  slipping  backward. 

Height  and  Weight:  The  height  and  weight  of 
men  in  connection  with  their  work  should  also  be 
considered.  See  page  1 64. 

Single  or  Married:  Happily  married  men,  other 
things  being  equal,  do  the  best  work.  They  are 
more  permanent.  Bachelors  come  next.  The  man 
with  serious  domestic  trouble  is  least  efficient  and 

*"  Motion  Study,"  page  15. 


190       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

least  satisfactory  of  all.  Therefore,  in  selecting 
men  for  important  positions,  it  is  an  essential 
to  know  something  of  their  domestic  relations. 
This  is  not  difficult  to  ascertain  by  indirect  methods 
if  the  interviewer  is  tactful  and  sympathetic.  A 
man's  ambitions  for  his  home  and  for  permanent 
employment  throw  light  on  his  family  relations. 
The  man  may  be  single  yet  have  a  large  family 
dependent  upon  him;  hence  the  next  inquiry. 

Ever  Employed  Here:  If  a  man  has  been  em- 
ployed by  the  firm  before,  and  there  is  an  adequate 
system  of  records,  it  will  be  possible  to  learn  how  he 
performed.  Under  this  plan  there  will  be  complete 
data  concerning  him.  In  the  absence  of  such  in- 
formation, it  is  important  to  know  why  he  left  and 
why  he  wishes  to  return. 

Position  Wanted:  The  applicant  may  be  ap- 
plying for  a  position  far  beneath  his  abilities  —  or 
far  beyond  them.  Or  he  may  be  applying  for  work 
in  one  department  when  his  talents  fit  him  espe- 
cially for  another.  The  interviewer  should  discover 
such  errors  by  weighing  the  evidence  with  the  re- 
quirements of  the  position  in  mind. 

Permanent  or  Temporary:  It  is  also  for  the  in- 
terviewer to  determine  whether  this  is  a  "tempo- 
rary" man  seeking  a  permanent  position,  or  not. 

Why  Do  You  Wish  to  Leave?  In  case  a  man  al- 
ready employed  elsewhere  is  seeking  a  new  con- 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  191 

nection,  it  is  interesting  to  know  his  reason.  Of 
course,  he  may  not  give  his  real  reason,  but  with 
experience  an  employment  supervisor,  or  inter- 
viewer, soon  learns  to  read  between  the  lines,  and 
so  obtain  another  angle  upon  the  applicant's  point 
of  view,  character,  and  disposition. 

What  Are  You  Now  Doing  to  Improve  Yourself? 
Answer  to  this  question  often  reveals  a  great  deal 
that  is  significant  in  regard  to  the  applicant's 
character.  Many  men  show  by  their  answers  that 
they  are  not  interested  in  self-improvement,  and, 
therefore,  not  deeply  interested  in  the  quality 
of  service  they  give.  This  may  be  due  to  inherent 
laziness,  irresponsibility,  or  desire  to  get  much 
for  little,  or  it  may  be  a  result  of  indifference  or 
bad  judgment  on  the  part  of  former  employers. 
It  has  been  our  experience  that  there  are  few 
men  who  cannot  be  awakened  to  a  desire  for 
self -improvement,  by  an  employer  or  an  employ- 
ment supervisor  who  is  sincere,  diplomatic,  and 
persistent. 

What  Do  You  Read  Now?  A  truthful  answer 
to  this  question  reveals  much  to  the  experienced 
interviewer.  It  may  tell  whether  a  man  is  in- 
terested in  the  technical,  the  administrative,  the 
executive,  or  the  financial  phases  of  his  calling. 
It  may  also  tell  whether  or  not  he  reads  anti- 
social literature, 


192        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

What  Besides  Pay  Is  Important  to  You?  By 
talking  over  this  question  with  applicants  the 
employment  supervisor,  or  interviewer,  not  only 
gets  valuable  information  as  to  where  the  particular 
applicant  will  best  fit,  but  also  learns  something 
about  the  general  character  of  the  people  he  is 
employing,  as  to  their  attitude  toward  working 
conditions,  supervision,  opportunities  for  advance- 
ment and  the  production  of  something  worth 
while  for  the  common  good. 

Did  You  Work  During  Your  School  Vacation? 
This  question  is  especially  important  in  the  case 
of  high  school  and  college  graduates  who  apply 
for  employment,  since  it  gives  information  as  to 
previous  actual  experience  in  industry  or  business. 
If  the  applicant's  parents  are  known  to  be  well-to-do 
it  also  is  one  indication  of  the  energy  and  disposi- 
tion to  industry  of  applicant. 

Do  You  Make  Acquaintances  Easily  ?  This  and 
its  companion  question,  Do  you  like  to  be  with 
people?  are  important  not  only  in  cases  where  the 
applicant  is  seeking  for  work  as  a  salesman,  but 
also  in  organizations  where  social  life  is  an  import- 
ant feature.  This  is  especially  true  of  plants 
located  in  towns  where  practically  all  the  inhabit- 
ants are  either  employees  or  the  dependents  of  em- 
ployees. It  is  well  also  to  know  an  applicant's 
social  needs  if  he  is  likely  to  be  put  in  an  isolated 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  193 

position,  or  to  work  in  a  plant  where  there  is 
little  opportunity  for  social  life. 

What  Are  Your  Favourite  Recreations  ?  The  an- 
swer to  this  question  not  only  gives  information 
as  to  the  character  of  the  applicant,  but  also  gives 
the  interviewer  an  opportunity  to  act  as  an  un- 
official recruiting  officer  for  the  company's  baseball 
and  other  athletic  teams,  musical  organizations, 
study  clubs,  and  technical  societies. 

Other  Information  and  Its  Value:  The  address 
of  the  applicant  locates  him,  not  only  for  purposes 
of  sending  someone  to  call  upon  him  should  he 
fail  to  appear,  but  also  for  the  purpose  of  gauging 
his  environment,  knowing  whether  he  lives  too 
far  from  the  factory  or  office  to  reach  it  promptly 
and  without  loss  of  time  and  energy.  The  address 
also  tells  the  intelligent  employment  supervisor, 
or  interviewer,  about  what  a  man's  annual  expendi- 
tures may  be,  how  much  he  will  have  to  pay  out 
for  transportation,  and  what  his  associates  are 
likely  to  be.  Classified  information  as  to  the  dis- 
tricts of  the  city  in  which  employees  live  also  com- 
prises valuable  data  when  considering  transpor- 
tation and  housing  facilities. 

Whatever  a  man's  natural  aptitudes  may  be,  it 
is  impossible  to  know  just  where  he  will  fit  in  an 
organization,  unless  his  training,  education,  and 
experience  are  also  taken  into  account.  The  ap- 


194        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

plication  forms  should  provide  adequate  blanks 
for  the  applicant,  or  the  employment  supervisor, 
to  fill  in,  giving  as  much  of  this  kind  of  information 
as  is  desirable  in  any  particular  case. 

Other  important  information  which  may  be 
gained  from  an  applicant's  filling  in  of  the  applica- 
tion blank  is  of  various  kinds,  and  may  be  arranged 
for  after  a  careful  analysis  of  all  the  conditions. 
Among  others  which  have  been  found  useful  are 
the  following: 

A  signature  of  the  applicant  may  be  kept  on 
file  and  used  to  identify  him  in  large  organizations 
where  there  may  be  many  employees  of  the  same 
name. 

In  many  cases  it  is  desirable  to  know  whether 
or  not  an  applicant  served  a  thorough  apprentice- 
ship for  his  trade,  and  if  so,  where,  and  under 
whose  direction. 

In  some  large  organizations  it  is  advisable  to 
keep  a  definite  record  of  the  number  of  white  and 
coloured  employees  in  the  plant  and  in  each  depart- 
ment. 

It  is  sometimes  worth  knowing  whether  an 
applicant  owns  his  home,  whether  he  rents  it, 
whether  he  boards,  or  whether  he  lives  with  his 
parents. 

Under  some  circumstances  it  is  well  to  know 
whether  or  not  an  applicant  carries  insurance  and, 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  195 

if  so,  of  what  character  and  for  how  much;  what 
church  or  lodge,  society  or  union  he  belongs  to; 
whether  or  not  he  can  speak  and  write  English; 
whether  he  is  an  alien  or  a  citizen,  and  if  an 
alien,  whether  he  has  intentions  of  becoming  a 
citizen;  and  whether  or  not  he  has  any  physical 
defects. 

In  general,  it  should  be  the  aim  of  the  employ- 
ment supervisor  to  secure  every  item  of  relevant 
knowledge  about  an  applicant  before  concluding 
whether  or  not  he  will  be  a  desirable  member  of 
the  organization  and,  if  so,  in  just  what  position 
he  will  prove  to  be  most  desirable,  not  only  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  organization,  but  also  for 
his  own  sake. 

In  this,  as  in  everything  else,  there  is  a  golden 
mean. 

Some  of  those  who  have  devised  application 
blanks  have  been  too  zealous,  so  that  petty  and 
irrelevant  information  is  demanded,  or  questions 
are  asked  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  offense.  Indeed 
the  tendency  of  many  employment  supervisors, 
especially  those  whose  functions  are  mainly  clerical, 
is  to  multiply  the  details  of  their  departments  in 
all  directions,  handling  many  useless  blanks  with 
many  useless  spaces  on  them. 

The  most  successful  employment  departments 
are  those  in  which  simplicity  and  authority  give 


196        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

the  supervisor  and  his  assistant  a  vision  of  large 
usefulness. 

An  employment  department  should  never  get 
into  a  position  wherein  it  cannot  see  the  forest  for 
the  trees. 

Thus  in  many  ways  applicants  reveal  in  some 
measure  their  characters,  their  aptitudes,  and  their 
habits  as  they  respond  to  these  questions  by  the 
interviewer.  A  good  example  of  this  is  to  be  found 
in  the  autobiographies  of  great  men,  particularly 
scientists,  engineers,  and  scholars.  Sir  Francis 
Galton,  Prof.  Simon  Newcomb,  Sir  Henry  Bes- 
semer, and  Cardinal  Newman  told  the  truth  about 
themselves  in  their  autobiographies.  Cellini's  au- 
tobiography is  a  good  example  of  the  opposite  type. 
He  was  an  artist  but  a  braggart,  and  his  autobi- 
ography teems  with  self-praise. 

NOT  ALL  APPLICANTS  QUESTIONED 

It  would  seem  that  any  person  of  ordinary  in- 
telligence would  know  that  these  questions  are 
suggested  to  the  employment  supervisor  and  his 
assistants  merely  as  a  guide  and  not  as  a  hard-and- 
fast  schedule.  And  yet  we  have  been  most  entertain- 
ingly pictured  as  inquiring  of  an  Italian  immigrant 
seeking  a  position  as  wielder  of  pick  and  shovel: 
"In  school  what  study  did  you  like  best?"  and  "If 
you  could  have  any  position  you  wished  for,  what 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  197 

would  it  be?"  When  we  devised  these  questions, 
as  the  result  of  many  years'  experience,  we  did  so 
in  the  hope  that  those  who  used  them  in  examining 
applicants  would  do  so  with  common  sense.  We 
have  not  been  disappointed. 

Two  of  the  questions  we  ask,  when  their  use  is 
indicated,  are  these:  "What  kind  of  work  do  you 
like  best?"  and  "If  you  could  have  any  position 
you  wished  for,  what  would  it  be?"  It  is  ex- 
pected that  these  questions  should  be  used  in  ex- 
amining young  men,  to  ascertain  whether  or  not 
they  have  any  well-defined  idea  as  to  what  they 
wish  to  become.  They  are  to  be  asked  after  the 
interviewer  has  established  relations  of  fullest  con- 
fidence with  the  applicant,  so  that  he  is  thoroughly 
at  his  ease  and  willing  to  talk  about  his  ambitions. 
A  man's  ideal  is  the  most  important  thing  about 
him.  It  does  more  to  determine  his  value  and  ulti- 
mate success  than  any  other  one  element  in  his  char- 
acter. Some  men,  however,  tell  us  of  their  great 
ambition,  and  yet  apply  for  a  job  that  does  not  lead 
toward  it.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between  mere 
limp  wishing  and  strong,  definite  purpose.  Oc- 
casionally a  man  seeks  a  position  seemingly  incon- 
sistent with  his  ideals  but  really  bearing  directly 
upon  their  realization.  A  man  who  is  ambitious 
as  a  writer  on  economics  for  business  men  once 
sought  a  position  as  salesman  that  he  might  learn 


198        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

something  about  the  economics  of  distribution. 
His  ambition  was  perfectly  legitimate,  but  under 
the  circumstances  it  was  not  deemed  advisable  to 
spend  the  time  and  money  necessary  to  train  and 
prepare  him  merely  for  temporary  work  as  salesman. 
In  a  similar  way,  each  of  the  questions  suggested, 
when  wisely  put  and  its  answer  intelligently  inter- 
preted, is  of  great  value. 

DEALINGS    WITH    UNTRUTHFULNESS 

In  putting  these  questions  and  all  others  to  ap- 
plicants, it  is  always  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  many 
men,  through  ignorance  or  bad  training  or  unfor- 
tunate environment,  are  untruthful.  Perhaps  one 
of  the  most  potent  causes  of  this  untruthfulness, 
especially  among  less  intelligent  workmen,  is  that 
they  have  been  so  discourteously  and  brutally 
treated  by  some  employers  that  they  think  they 
are  obliged  to  lie  in  order  to  secure  employment. 
While  at  first  it  is  necessary  for  an  employment 
I  supervisor  and  his  staff  to  be  on  their  guard  lest 
they  be  deceived,  experience  has  abundantly  shown 
that  kind  treatment,  justice,  and  patient  instruction 
soon  make  most  of  these  men  fairly  reliable  and 
many  of  them  trustworthy.  Until  such  results 
are  obtained,  however,  methods  must  be  used  which 
will  ascertain  the  truth.  And  the  only  safe,  effec- 
tive method  known  to  us  is  careful,  intelligent  ob- 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  199 

servation  of  external  signs  which  the  man  can 
neither  change  nor  conceal — in  fact,  which  he  does 
not  even  know  can  be  observed. 

Many  foreigners,  new  to  our  ways,  give  to  their 
employers  so  many  different  names  that  it  is  some- 
times a  question  whether  some  of  them  know  what 
their  true  names  are.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for 
a  labourer,  discharged  from  one  department  in  the 
morning,  to  apply  for  work  in  another  department 
by  a  different  name  in  the  afternoon.  Where  there 
are  day  and  night  gangs  we  have  known  men  to 
work  in  the  day  gang  by  one  name,  and  in  the  night 
gang  by  another.  "When  do  they  sleep?"  you 
ask.  During  the  time  they  are  supposed  to  be  at 
work.  One  such  versatile  fellow,  a  Syrian,  seemed 
absolutely  unable  to  understand  that  he  had  done 
any  wrong  in  making  such  an  arrangement. 

ABOUT   PSYCHOLOGICAL   TESTS 

We  have  frequently  been  asked  whether  we  use 
psychological  tests.  Where  undesirable  publicity 
has  made  a  feature  of  the  analysis  work  of  an  em- 
ployment department  it  is  difficult  enough  to  allay 
the  suspicions  of  the  average  applicant  and  get  him 
to  fill  out  an  application  blank.  One  can  imagine 
what  it  would  be  like  to  get  his  sincere  cooperation 
in  a  series  of  elaborate  psychological  tests.  Fur- 
thermore, we  have  faithfully  tried  many  psycho- 


200        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

logical  tests  and  have  found  either  that  it  was  so 
difficult  to  maintain  ideal  conditions  that  the  re- 
sults were  negative  and  unreliable,  or  that  when 
the  results  were  reliable  they  could  have  been  far 
more  easily  obtained  by  observation. 

But,  even  granting  that  psychological  tests  were 
easily  applied,  that  they  were  reliable  and  gave 
information  not  otherwise  obtainable,  no  psycho- 
logical tests  have  yet  been  devised  to  determine  a 
man's  honesty,  his  good  nature,  his  industry,  his 
cheerfulness,  his  courtesy,  or  any  one  of  many  other 
most  important  qualifications.  There  are  some 
positions  where  tests  of  hearing  and  vision  are  nec- 
essary, and  in  these  cases  we  use  them.  But  for 
practically  all  other  aptitudes,  and  for  all  traits  of 
character,  we  repeat,  the  only  safe  and  effective 
method  is  trained  observation. 

DRAWING   CONCLUSIONS 

The  practical  and  perhaps  the  most  difficult  part 
of  our  problem  confronts  us  when,  having  com- 
pleted our  analysis  of  the  man,  we  undertake  to  fit 
him  to  his  job.  In  the  solution  of  this  part  of 
our  problem  the  best  possible  guide  is  common 
sense  enlightened  by  intelligently  interpreted  ex- 
perience. 

There  are  many  factors  in  this  problem.  Here 
are  the  analyses  of  the  different  jobs  in  the  organi- 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  201 

zation,  each  with  its  physical,  intellectual,  and  psy- 
chical requirements.  Here  is  the  analysis  of  the 
man,  showing  his  physical,  intellectual,  and  psychi- 
cal qualifications.  Here  are  the  requisitions  for 
men  from  executives,  showing  which  of  the  positions 
in  the  organization  are  available.  A  process  of 
elimination  rapidly  narrows  the  choice  down  to  a 
very  few.  If  the  man  is  a  pronounced  blond,  then 
all  positions  requiring  close  application,  sustained 
activity,  slow,  plodding,  patient  effort  are  elimi- 
nated. If  the  man  is  concave  in  form,  then  all  those 
positions  requiring  aggressiveness,  keenness,  alert- 
ness, energy,  and  a  sense  of  the  practical  are  dropped 
from  consideration.  If  the  man  is  small  in  size, 
then  all  those  positions  requiring  slow,  powerful, 
rhythmical  action  are  out  of  the  question.  If  the 
applicant  is  of  very  fine  texture,  then  all  positions 
in  harsh,  unlovely  environment,  which  require 
handling  heavy,  coarse  materials  or  tools,  and  con- 
stant association  with  those  of  coarse  texture  and 
crude  manners  will  not  fit.  If  the  applicant  is  of 
hard  consistency,  then  positions  requiring  sym- 
pathy, gentleness,  and  adaptability  are  unfitted  for 
his  type.  If  the  applicant  lacks  endurance  or  care- 
fulness or  ambition  or  courage,  or  any  of  the  quali- 
ties indicated  by  variations  in  proportion,  then 
positions  requiring  the  exercise  of  these  qualities 
must  be  eliminated.  If  the  applicant's  expression 


202          THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

shows  him  to  be  pessimistic,  then  any  position 
which  requires  hopefulness  and  cheerfulness  is  not 
for  him.  If  the  applicant's  conditions  of  body  and 
dress  show  him  to  have  careless,  slack,  slovenly 
habits,  then  any  position  requiring  neatness,  ac- 
curacy, order,  cleanliness,  and  careful  attention  to 
details  must  be  excluded.  Constant  practice  soon 
enables  the  employment  supervisor  and  his  assist- 
ants to  make  these  eliminations  quickly — almost 
instantaneously.  In  fact,  while  reading  about  it 
may  make  the  operation  of  this  plan  seem  slow  and 
cumbersome,  in  actual  practice  it  is  swift  and  con- 
venient.* 

*The  report  of  the  employment  department  in  the company  for 

January,  1913,  indicates  the  amount  of  work  that  can  be  done  by  a  small 
force  under  this  plan.  During  this  month,  in  addition  to  the  employment 
supervisor,  there  were  two  interviewers  for  shop  applicants,  one  interviewer 
for  office  applicants,  and  one  stenographer  in  the  department.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  record: 

For  Shop     For  Offices     Total 

Interviewed  1,601  391         1,992 

Applications  taken  in  office  294  137  431 

Referred  to  foremen  299  84  383 

Rejected  by  foremen  5  05 

Rejected  by  employment  department  231  74  305 

Hired  277  85  362 

Removed  from  pay-roll  317  23  340 

Transferred  206  37  243 

Rates  changed  150  48  198 

Applications  by  mail  231 

Rejections  by  mail  49 

It  may  be  said  in  explanation  of  these  figures  that  the  employment  de- 
partment in  this  company  had  been  installed  but  a  comparatively  short 
time.  Extensive  reconstruction  and  reorganization  had  been  begun  before 
the  installation  of  the  department,  owing  to  the  introduction  of  efficiency 
standards,  a  change  from  piece  rates  to  the  bonus  system  of  payment,  and 
other  causes.  For  these  reasons  the  number  removed  from  the  pay-roll, 
transferred,  and  changed  in  rate  is  very  high.  However,  only  six  months 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  903 

The  process  of  elimination  having  greatly  simpli- 
fied the  problem,  it  remains  to  determine  for  which 
of  the  few  available  positions  the  applicant  is  best 
fitted.  If  the  applicant  is  of  moderate  natural 
abilities  and  attainments,  and  the  available  posi- 
tions are  comparatively  simple  in  their  require- 
ments, the  problem  is  not  a  difficult  one.  When, 
however,  the  applicant  is  a  man  of  unusual  ability 
either  latent  or  highly  developed,  and  there  are  va- 
cancies with  high  requirements,  the  fitting  of  the 
man  to  his  job  often  calls  for  a  high  degree  of  intel- 
ligence and  judicial  capacity.  Then  it  is  that  many 
of  the  refinements  of  analysis  and  a  careful  inter- 
pretation of  the  significance  of  the  combination  of 
the  nine  variables  in  the  individual  come  into  play. 

HOW    THE    PLAN    WORKS 

To  many  who  pride  themselves  on  being  "prac- 
tical" this  no  doubt  seems  theoretical  and  futile. 
There  is  a  feeling  on  the  part  of  many  able  employers 
that  there  is  a  subtle  something  about  human  beings 
that  defies  analysis,  and  that  the  most  carefully 
planned  and  executed  system  of  analysis  is  more 


earlier,  before  reorganization  and  reconstruction  were  begun,  and  when  there 
was  no  employment  department,  the  number  removed  from  the  pay-roll 
every  month  averaged  550.  In  order  to  maintain  the  force  an  equal  number 
were  hired  each  month.  Therefore,  even  under  the  stress  of  sweeping  change 
in  policy  and  methods,  for  which  it  was  not  responsible,  the  employment 
department  was  able  to  reduce  the  number  of  monthly  changes  in  the  pay- 
roll more  than  30  per  cent. 


204        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

likely  than  not  to  miss  altogether,  while  the 
practical  man  who  relies  on  his  intuition  makes  a 
good  choice  more  frequently  than  does  the  scien- 
tific analyst.  Such  a  feeling  is  perfectly  natural 
and  justifiable.  Any  mere  theoretical  system  based 
upon  one  or  two  or  even  four  or  five  variables 
would  thus  come  to  grief  when  put  to  the  test. 
But  a  system  of  analysis  based  not  upon  theory  but 
worked  out  as  the  result  of  years  of  practical  ex- 
perience, and  taking  into  consideration  not  a  few 
things,  but  everything  about  a  man,  simply  utilizes 
scientifically  the  substance  of  the  practical  man's 
intuitions,  as  he  calls  them,  and  in  addition  a  great 
deal  of  organized,  classified,  and  verified  knowledge. 
Those  who  make  careful  use  of  this  plan  may, 
and  do,  make  occasional  blunders,  but  they  are  not 
guilty  of  glaring  ones  in  fitting  the  man  to  his  job 
and  to  his  environment.  They  do  not  place  a  ner- 
vous, high-strung,  sensitive,  temperamental  man 
under  a  harsh,  loud-voiced,  unsympathetic,  hard- 
driving,  superior  executive.  Since  they  can  easily 
determine  the  degree  and  quality  of  an  applicant's 
honesty,  they  have  never  yet  given  a  gambler,  a 
man  of  great  shrewdness  and  cunning,  with  a  pas- 
sion for  money,  deficient  conscience,  and  weak  will, 
or  a  plain,  deliberate  crook,  charge  of  cash.  They 
do  not  send  a  lazy,  apathetic,  unsociable,  and  easily 
discouraged  man  out  on  the  road  as  salesman. 


ANALYZING  THE  MAN  205 

They  do  not  recommend  the  employment  of  crude, 
coarse-textured,  rough  and  ill-mannered  men  for 
positions  where  they  come  constantly  in  contact 
with  a  discriminating  public.  They  do  not  put  a 
restless,  volatile,  eager,  liberty-loving,  and  intensely 
active  individual  into  a  job  which  ties  him  down  to 
a  careful  handling  of  minute  details,  monotonous 
routine,  and  exasperating  annoyances.  They  do 
not  recommend  as  an  executive  a  man  of  weak  per- 
sonality or  deficient  sense  of  justice  or  unreliable 
temper  or  a  disagreeable  aloofness  of  manner.  Per- 
haps it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  selections  very 
much  like  these  are  not  altogether  unknown  where 
"practical"  methods  are  in  use. 

Character  analysis  by  the  observational  method 
is  not  infallible;  nor  can  it  ever  be  infallible  so  long 
as  its  conclusions  must  rest  upon  the  fallible  obser- 
vations and  judgment  of  mere  human  beings.  But 
in  so  far  as  observation  can  be  trained  by  practice, 
and  in  so  far  as  judgment  can  be  enlightened  by 
knowledge  and  experience,  to  just  that  degree  can 
the  science  of  character  analysis  by  the  observa- 
tional method  be  made  a  safe,  sane,  practical  basis 
for  the  selection,  assignment,  management,  and  edu- 
cation of  employees. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  BOSS 

"I  do  not  like  thee,  Dr.  Fell. 
The  reason  why  I  cannot  tell. 
But  this  I  know,  and  know  full  well, 
I  do  not  like  thee,  Dr.  Fell. 

THE  old  rhyme  expresses  a  common  human 
experience.     We  all  have  our  likes  and  our 
dislikes.     We  are  attracted  to  some  people 
and  repelled  by  others.     We  naturally  harmonize 
with  some  and  are  in  a  state  of  constant  friction 
and  discord  with  others. 

This  principle  of  attraction  or  repulsion,  har- 
mony or  discord  operates  not  only  among  human 
beings  but  is  universal.  Watch  your  dog  as  he 
follows  you  on  a  tramp  into  the  country.  Notice 
his  behaviour  with  the  other  dogs  he  meets.  As 
soon  as  he  sees  some  dogs  his  tail  begins  to  wag  and 
within  a  few  minutes  they  are  friendly.  He  ap- 
proaches other  dogs  growling,  with  his  teeth  show- 
ing and  his  hair  bristling.  Observe  carefully  and 
you  will  see  the  same  likes  and  dislikes  among 
horses,  cats,  birds,  and  even  insect*. 

206 


THE  BOSS  207 

The  principle  holds  good  in  inanimate  nature. 
Some  chemicals  have  a  powerful  affinity  for  each 
other.  Others  are  utterly  unresponsive.  Still  others 
are  dangerous  and  explosive  when  brought  together. 
Musical  tones  may  produce  harmony  or  discord. 

There  are  some  likes  and  dislikes  of  ours  that  we 
can  explain.  We  dislike  this  man  because  he  is 
narrow  and  bigoted,  and  that  man  because  he  is  a 
braggart.  We  like  one  of  our  friends  because  he  is 
good-natured  and  diplomatic,  and  another  because 
he  is  charmingly  deferential  and  courteous.  But 
many  of  our  likes  and  dislikes  are  mysteries.  They 
are  cases  of  Dr.  Fell. 

In  a  similar  way,  the  uninformed  man  does  not 
understand  the  attractions  and  repulsions  among 
animals.  He  does  not  know  just  why  chemicals 
react  to  one  another  so  differently.  And  he  can 
give  no  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  reasons  for 
harmony  and  discord  in  musical  tones. 

But,  if  the  layman  does  not  know  why  musical 
tones  produce  harmony  or  discord,  the  musician 
does.  If  the  man  in  the  street  does  not  know  why 
chemicals  behave  toward  one  another  as  they  do, 
the  chemist  does.  In  like  manner,  if  you  cannot 
tell  why  you  do  not  like  Dr.  Fell,  the  thoughtful 
observer  and  student  of  human  nature  can.  If  he 
has  seen  both  you  and  Dr.  Fell,  he  knows  before 
you  meet  that  you  will  not  like  the  Doctor. 


208        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

ANALYSIS    REVEALS    CAUSES    OF    INHARMONY 

These  phenomena  of  harmony  and  inharmony 
are  not  accidents  or  coincidences.  In  a  universe 
where  law  is  supreme  nothing  just  happens.  For 
every  effect  there  must  be  an  adequate  cause. 
Since  there  are  causes  for  likes  and  dislikes,  analy- 
sis can  hunt  them  out,  classify  them,  note  their  in- 
dications,, and  safely  predicate  their  operation. 
With  a  knowledge  of  such  causes,  the  observer  and 
thinker  can  work  out  a  table  of  affinities  as  com- 
plete, although  perhaps  not  so  definite  and  exact, 
as  a  table  of  chemical  affinities. 

The  practical  value  of  such  knowledge  in  employ- 
ment is  obviously  great.  So  little  are  the  perfectly 
natural  causes  of  harmony  and  discord  between 
individuals  understood  that  we  blame  the  man  who 
cannot  get  along  with  his  superior,  or  perhaps  the 
superior  who  is  always  having  trouble  with  his 
men.  It  is  perfectly  human  and  largely  excusable 
for  an  executive  to  think  that  the  employee  he  dis- 
likes is  inefficient,  insolent,  and  insubordinate,  or 
that  in  some  other  perfectly  indefensible  way  he  is 
to  blame.  And  it  is  just  as  human  and  just  as  ex- 
cusable for  the  employee  to  believe  that  the  boss  he 
can't  get  along  with  "has  it  in  for  him,"  is  jealous 
of  him,  won 't  give  him  a  fair  deal,  and  is  ignorant, 
unjust,  and  incompetent.  No  one  knows  better 
than  the  employer  how  distressing  and  wasteful 


THE  BOSS  '209 

are  these  feuds  between  executives,  great  and  small, 
and  their  men. 

DESTRUCTIVE    EFFECT    OF    INHARMONY 

Few  conditions  throw  sand  into  the  bearings  of 
an  industrial  or  commercial  machine  like  inhar- 
mony.  The  least  of  all  wastes  due  to  this  cause  is 
the  inability  of  the  executive  to  arouse  and  inspire 
to  superior  efforts  the  man  who  hates  or  despises 
him.  Worse  than  this  are  the  slackening  bonds  of 
discipline,  the  stirring  up  of  negative,  destructive 
thoughts  and  feelings  in  both  superior  and  subor- 
dinate, the  waste  of  energy  in  friction,  misunder- 
standings, and  other  causes  of  inefficiency.  Even 
worse  in  some  respects  than  these  effects  is  the  fact 
that  the  institution  is  being  continually  drained  of 
valuable  human  assets.  If  the  executive  dislikes 
a  man  he  eventually  discharges  him,  and,  by  an  un- 
written law  in  most  institutions,  that  man  cannot 
after  that  be  employed  in  any  department.  And 
yet  every  employer  knows  full  well  that  many  a 
valuable  man  has  been  lost  in  this  way.  It  is  for 
this  very  reason  that  executives,  otherwise  all  but 
impossible,  have  sometimes  been  retained  in  the 
service  because  they  have  the  faculty  of  tying  their 
men  together  and  to  themselves  with  cords  of  un- 
breakable loyalty. 

As  this  is  being  written,  a  great  and  disastrous 


210        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

strike  is  in  progress  in  some  English  cotton  mills  as 
the  result  of  friction  between  a  foreman  and  his 
subordinates.  Every  close  student  of  industrial 
history  knows  that  such  strikes  are  by  no  means 
infrequent.  The  average  employer  throws  his  hu- 
man chemicals  together  at  random.  He  has  no  idea, 
until  he  tries  them  out,  whether  they  will  mingle 
in  an  efficient  compound,  or  neutralize  each  other 
and  become  inert,  or  form  a  corrosive  poison  that 
will  eat  the  vitals  out  of  his  business,  or  explode  and 
blow  the  whole  organization  into  pieces  so  scattered 
that  they  are  difficult  to  reassemble. 

WHO  IS  THE  BOSS? 

The  properly  qualified  and  trained  employment 
supervisor,  having  determined  the  right  man  for 
the  right  job,  assigns  him  to  the  right  boss.  In 
this  classification,  the  word  "boss"  is  used  to  des- 
ignate the  man 's  immediate  superior,  whether  he 
be  general  manager,  manager,  superintendent,  de- 
partment manager,  chief  clerk,  head  bookkeeper, 
principal,  foreman,  gang-boss,  or  any  other  execu- 
tive. This  is  the  boss  with  whom  the  man  must 
work  —  must  cooperate.  The  word  boss,  there- 
fore, refers  to  the  individual  executive  as  distinct 
from  the  management. 

There  are  many  elements  to  be  considered  in  the 
relationship  between  the  man  and  the  boss,  between 


THE  BOSS  211 

the  boss  and  his  men.  We  have  mentioned  har- 
mony, which  is  one  of  the  most  important  if  not 
the  most  important.  Harmony  between  the  man 
and  the  boss  depends  upon  many  things  —  among 
them  the  proportion  and  nature  of  positive  and  neg- 
ative elements  of  character  in  each.  An  extremely 
positive  boss  will  not  work  harmoniously  with  ex- 
tremely positive  or  extremely  negative  men,  and 
conversely.  This  fact  will  be  readily  recognized 
by  any  observant  employer  by  a  study  of  the  fol- 
lowing analysis  of  the  two  types: 

POSITIVE  —  OB     DRIVING  NEGATIVE  —  OR     DRAWING 

^         Keen  Mild 

Quick  Deliberate  ^ 

Domineering  Persuasive 

Changeable  Constant 

Impatient  Patient 

Opinionated  Teachable 

Excitable  Calm 

The  positive,  driving  type,  if  given  men  of  his 
own  degree  of  positiveness,  will  arouse  antagonism 
and  insubordination.  The  negative  type,  if  given 
men  of  his  own  disposition,  will  fail  to  arouse  en- 
thusiasm and  stimulate  action.  Give  the  positive 
boss  men  several  degrees  more  negative  than  him- 
self, and  the  negative  boss  men  several  degrees  more 
positive  than  himself,  and  the  result  is  harmony. 

One  of  the  very  best  workmen  we  have  ever 
known,  a  man  in  whom  the  characteristics  classi- 


THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

fied  as  " negative"  predominated,  we  found  suffer- 
ing in  his  accustomed  silence  under  the  stinging 
taunts  of  an  executive  of  the  extreme  positive  type. 
And  the  executive  was  suffering  almost  as  much  as 
his  subordinate  at  the  man's  extreme  deliberation. 
His  calm,  unruffled  temper,  his  careful,  methodical 
ways  drove  his  high-strung,  erratic,  excitable  boss 
almost  to  distraction.  Upon  our  recommendation, 
this  man  was  transferred  to  a  boss  only  a  little  more 
positive  than  himself.  The  workman  and  both 
bosses  were  delighted  with  the  change,  and  a  val- 
uable man  almost  lost  by  discharge  was  saved  to 
the  institution. 

Another  frequent  cause  of  serious  trouble  is  dif- 
ference in  degree  of  sensitiveness.  The  extremely 
fine-textured,  responsive  individual  often  finds  the 
tactlessness  and  lack  of  delicacy  of  the  coarse  tex- 
tured almost  intolerable. 

SOME  CAUSES  OF  INHARMONY  AND  THE  METHOD  OF 

CURE 

Narrow,  bigoted,  egotistical,  and  self-assertive 
men  will  invariably  clash.  Each  wants  to  be  right 
all  the  time  and  each  takes  the  opposite  view  from 
the  other  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  boss  who  is 
deficient  in  sense  of  humour  utterly  fails  to  under- 
stand and  cannot  endure  the  pleasantries  of  a  sub- 
ordinate who  is  full  of  jokes  and  pranks.  The  man 


THE  BOSS  213 

of  dignity,  seriousness,  and  solemnity  is  always  an- 
noyed by  flippancy  or  a  tendency  to  chaffing,  es- 
pecially on  the  part  of  subordinates.  A  college 
president  with  no  tolerance  for  student  pranks  is  a 
good  example. 

Experience  teaches  the  observant  that  differences 
in  nationality,  in  religion,  in  race,  in  various  local 
allegiances,  and  in  other  matters  often  render  the 
man  and  his  boss  incompatible.  The  boss  whose 
one  idea  is  work,  hard,  unrelenting,  never-tiring 
work,  often  doing  things  in  the  hardest  possible 
way,  will  not  understand  or  tolerate  the  man  whose 
ideal  is  efficiency,  who  seeks  the  best,  easiest,  and 
quickest  ways  —  with  sufficient  periods  of  relaxa- 
tion. There  are  many  possible  causes  of  friction 
and  misunderstanding  —  more  than  could  be  enu- 
merated. They  depend  somewhat  upon  the  na- 
ture of  the  business,  the  character  of  employees, 
and  the  locality.  It  is  the  employment  supervisor's 
duty  to  study  these  and  learn  to  provide  against 
them  in  the  assignment  of  employees  to  foremen 
and  other  executives. 

The  same  considerations  apply  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent to  the  association  of  employees  together. 

The  relationship  between  the  man  and  his  boss 
is  one  of  the  most  important  as  well  as  the  most 
difficult  of  all  the  factors  in  the  employment  prob- 
lem. One  executive  whose  records  we  examined 


214        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

produced  62  units  a  week  with  a  force  of  122  men. 
His  successor,  under  precisely  the  same  conditions, 
and  with  the  same  grade  of  men,  produced  123 
units  a  week  with  39  men  —  a  net  increase  in  ef- 
ficiency of  620  per  cent.  In  another  case,  a  good 
executive  increased  the  output  163  per  cent,  when 
given  a  force  of  men  who  were  suited  to  his  type. 
The  increase  in  harmony  and  in  the  quality  of  prod- 
uct was  even  greater,  though  not  measurable  in 
percentages.  These  examples  are  typical. 

No  hard  and  fast  rules  for  the  solution  of  this 
problem  can  be  laid  down.  Knowledge  of  human 
nature,  sympathy,  keen  observation,  alertness  to 
conditions,  careful  study  of  compatibilities,  sane 
common  sense,  sound,  logical  reasoning,  good  judg- 
ment, and  singleness  of  purpose  on  the  part  of  both 
management  and  employment  department  are  the 
best  guarantee  of  efficient  assignment  of  men  and 
bosses. 

The  practical  procedure  of  this  feature  of  the  work 
of  the  employment  department  is  comparatively 
simple.  As  rapidly  as  possible,  the  employment 
supervisor  interviews  every  executive  in  the  organi- 
zation. In  these  interviews  many  subjects  are 
discussed,  bringing  out  various  points  of  view,  prej- 
udices, and  idiosyncrasies  of  the  executives.  The 
real  purpose  of  the  interview,  although  they  may 
not  know  it,  is  to  give  the  employment  supervisor 


THE  BOSS 

an  opportunity  to  make  a  careful  analysis,  and 
thus  to  determine  their  characters  and  dispositions. 
In  these  interviews  employment  supervisors  have 
found  executives  who  frankly  stated  that  they  would 
not  tolerate  Germans.  Others  have  confessed  a 
similar  prejudice  against  negroes,  Poles,  Italians, 
Irishmen,  etc.  Frequently  executives  are  found 
who  prefer  men  of  some  one  nationality.  Some 
bosses  prefer  blonds;  others  prefer  brunettes.  A 
little  tact  and  patience  brings  out  all  these  pref- 
erences. 

SOME   SAMPLE  ANALYSES 

As  the  employment  supervisor  interviews  and 
analyzes  each  executive  he  makes  notes  which  are 
afterward  crystallized  into  detailed  and  definite 
instructions  for  his  own  guidance  and  the  guidance 
of  each  member  of  his  staff,  telling  the  kind  of  men 
preferred  by  each  executive  as  well  as  the  pet  aver- 
sions of  each. 

The  following  sample  instructions  taken  from  the 
records  of  an  employment  department  show  how 
this  is  done: 

FOUNDRY 

Assistant  Superintendent  —  A. • 

Requirements  for  men : 
Quickness 
Energy 


THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

Will  get  along  well  with  almost  any  man. 

Prefers  Poles;  second,  Italians. 

Thinks  Greeks  too  good  for  foundry  work. 

PRODUCTION  DEPARTMENT 

Foreman  —  W.  L. 

Requirements  for  men: 
Quickness 
Keenness 
Accuracy 
Obedience 
Good  nature 
Not  too  great  sensitiveness. 

DRILL   PRESS   DEPARTMENT 

Foreman  —  H. 

Requirements  for  men : 
Obedience 
Teachableness 
Steadiness 
English-speaking  Poles,  English-speaking  Hungarians, 

but  no  Syrians,  Italians,  or  other  foreigners. 
Inexperienced  farmer  boys  preferred. 

SCREW  MACHINE   DEPARTMENT 

Foreman  —  A.  S. 

Requirements  for  men: 
Youth 

Medium  height 
Muscular  build 
Americans  preferred. 

PLANER  AND  SHAPER  DEPARTMENTS 

Foreman  —  A. 

Requirements  for  men : 
Stocky,  muscular  build 


THE  BOSS  217 

Brunette  colour 

Germans  or  Poles  preferred 

Apprentices  about  18  years  old  to  start  on  drill  presses. 

TURRET  LATHE  DEPARTMENT 

Foreman  —  M. (Speaks  German) 

Requirements  for  men : 
Slowness 
Calmness 
Dependableness 
Carefulness 
Patience 

For  larger  machines,  should  weigh  about  160  Ibs. 
For  smaller  machines,  should  weigh  about  135  Ibs. 
Prefers  Americans. 


TRUCKING   DEPARTMENT 

Foreman  —  H.  G. 

Requirements  for  men : 
Physical  strength 
Good  sense  of  location 
Good  sense  of  direction 
Good  memory 

Americans  or  foreigners  intelligent  enough  to  read  and 
write  English 

ERECTING   DEPARTMENT 

Foreman  —  Z. 

Requirements  for  men : 
Dependableness 
Slowness 
Steadiness 
Reliability 
Brunette  colour 
(Doesn't  like  nervous  men). 


218        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  BOSS 

One  of  the  most  heart-breaking  phases  of  employ, 
ment  work  is  the  spending  of  time  and  money  in 
securing,  analyzing,  selecting,  and  assigning  valu- 
able employees,  only  to  see  them  spoiled  and  their 
usefulness  to  the  organization  all  but  ruined  by  an 
incompetent  boss.  This,  too,  is  often  one  of  the 
most  difficult  problems  to  solve.  Business  insti- 
tutions are  not  ideal.  Perhaps  there  are  good  rea- 
sons why  conditions  which  seem  ideal  from  the 
point  of  view  of  employment  are  not  ideal  measures 
of  business  expediency.  Whatever  the  cause,  it 
is  often  impossible  to  replace  every  undesirable  and 
incompetent  executive  with  a  desirable  one.  In 
such  cases  the  employment  supervisor  must  make 
the  best  of  the  situation  —  assigning  employees 
with  all  the  wisdom  at  his  command.  Here,  how- 
ever, is  a  situation  which  will  repay  the  most  earn- 
est study  on  the  part  of  any  management  which 
protects  and  sustains,  for  any  reason,  executives  who 
have  a  record  of  frequent  changes  in  the  personnel 
of  their  departments,  and  complain  that  their  work 
suffers  because  they  cannot  secure  or  keep  good 
men. 

However  needful  to  select  efficient  employees 
for  the  rank  and  file,  it  is  far  more  needful  to  place 
good  men  and  women  in  authority,  high  and  low. 
An  efficient  executive  can  secure  good  results  from 


THE  BOSS  219 

mediocre  men;  but  an  incompetent  executive  will 
nullify  the  ability  of  the  best  of  men.  Napoleon 's 
victory  at  Austerlitz  was  not  because  he  had  supe- 
rior troops  —  nor  was  his  defeat  at  Waterloo  due  to 
inferior  soldiers.  Alexander's  thirty  thousand  at 
Issus  were  no  better  men  than  Darius'  million  — 
the  difference  was  between  Napoleon  in  1805 
and  Napoleon  in  1815  —  between  Alexander  and 
Darius. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISOR  AND  HIS  STAFF 

THE  success  of  any  employment  plan  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  aptitudes,  character, 
and  training  of  the  employment  supervisor. 
A  competent  supervisor,  well  qualified  for  his  work 
by  character  and  disposition,  makes  a  fair  success 
even  with  a  poor  plan.  A  supervisor  unfitted  for 
his  work  cannot  succeed  even  with  the  best  plan 
that  could  be  devised.  In  choosing  an  employ- 
ment supervisor  we  seek  first  of  all  one  who  under- 
stands people,  sympathizes  with  them,  and  truly 
loves  his  fellow-men. 

UNDERSTANDING  OF  HUMAN  NATURE 

Some  people  are  naturally  good  judges  of  human 
nature.  These  can  easily  acquire  the  scientific 
training  necessary  to  convert  fairly  accurate  guesses 
into  definite  knowledge.  We  have  selected  and 
installed  employment  supervisors  who,  within  six 
months,  had  so  far  supplemented  their  natural  gifts 
with  special  training  as  to  make  them  excellent 
judges  of  aptitudes  and  character.  The  man  who 

220 


EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISOR 

understands  people  usually  sympathizes  with  and 
loves  them.  Because  he  loves  to  deal  with  them 
and  to  come  in  contact  with  them,  he  is  efficient 
and  successful. 

SYMPATHY 

We  have  looked  on  in  admiration  at  the  kindli- 
ness, tact,  and  sympathy  of  a  young  employment 
supervisor  of  but  four  or  five  months'  experience  as 
he  dealt  with  the  complicated  situations  brought 
before  him  for  adjustment.  His  calm,  unruffled, 
gentle  demeanour,  his  quick  understanding  of  mo- 
tives and  emotions,  and  his  scientific  knowledge 
as  to  how  to  deal  with  them  straightened  out  tan- 
gles and  hard  knots  and  adjusted  differences  and 
difficulties. 

An  employment  supervisor  of  this  kind  sets  the 
pace  for  his  entire  staff  and  is  himself  the  spirit 
of  his  entire  department.  The  moment  an  appli- 
cant or  employee  enters  such  a  department  he  feels 
that  he  is  among  those  who  understand  him  and  who 
are  his  friends.  Not  only  employees  in  the  rank 
and  file,  but  foremen,  heads  of  departments,  and 
even  higher  executives  soon  get  into  the  habit  of 
going  to  such  an  employment  supervisor,  not  only 
in  the  regular  routine  of  business,  but  for  counsel, 
encouragement,  and  assistance  in  solving  their  prob- 
lems. 


THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

TACTFULNESS 

One  who  loves  men  and  understands  them  will 
usually  have  the  quality  of  tactfulness  and  the  fac- 
ulty of  putting  others  at  their  ease,  but  this  is  not 
always  the  case.  In  the  selection  of  an  employ- 
ment supervisor  this  quality  is  definitely  considered 
apart  from  any  other.  In  order  to  judge  men  fairly 
and  accurately  in  all  respects  one  must  study  them 
when  they  are  at  ease  and  expressing  themselves 
naturally  and  normally.  It  is  the  practice  of  some 
employers  to  summon  applicants  before  them  and 
then,  assuming  a  fierce  expression  and  harsh  voice, 
to  grill  them  unmercifully  —  a  method  which  usu- 
ally adds  greatly  to  the  employer's  good  opinion 
of  himself  and  his  pleasure  in  his  own  performances, 
but  which  is  effective,  too,  in  eliminating  from 
consideration  all  but  the  most  brazen  and  thick- 
skinned.  That  such  applicants  often  turn  out  to 
be  deceivers  and  trouble  makers,  and  therefore  the 
least  desirable  of  all  possible  employees,  is  sufficient 
commentary  on  this  method.  Since  it  is  the  con- 
structive thought  and  feeling  of  workers  we  desire, 
that  employment  supervisor  is  most  efficient  who 
most  successfully  inspires  such  thought  and  feeling 
in  the  employee  from  the  moment  he  enters  the 
institution  to  make  application  for  work.  Further- 
more, it  is  by  tactfulness  that  confidence  is  gained 
and  harmonious  relations  begun. 


EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISOR  223 

TEACHABLENESS 

Having  satisfied  ourselves  that  our  prospective 
employment  supervisor  has  these  desirable  intel- 
lectual and  social  qualities,  we  next  consider  his 
teachableness. 

We  have  found  it  possible  to  accomplish  almost 
anything  with  a  man  who  has  a  pliable,  youthful 
mind,  no  matter  what  his  years,  who  has  a  broad 
outlook  on  life,  and  who  never  seems  to  forget  that 
his  sum  of  knowledge,  be  it  little  or  great,  is  a  mere 
atom  in  the  mass  of  what  may  be  learned.  When 
we  find  a  man  who  knows  that  new  discoveries  to- 
morrow may  render  obsolete  the  highest  wisdom  of 
to-day  —  especially  his  own  —  and  who,  therefore, 
is  not  only  receptive  of  but  eager  for  more  and 
more  truth,  we  are  very  hopeful  of  him,  no  matter 
what  maybe  his  other  qualifications  or  lack  of  them. 
An  employment  supervisor  works  with  human 
beings  in  whom  there  is  constant  variation.  He  is 
applying  the  principles  of  a  comparatively  new  sci- 
ence to  which  additions  are  being  made  constantly. 
He  is  likely  to  find  himself  dealing  with  subordinates 
and  associates  who  consider  that  they  have  learned 
all  that  can  be  learned  about  their  business. 

For  all  these  reasons,  it  is  highly  important  that 
an  employment  supervisor  should  not  only  be 
teachable,  but  that  he  should  be  the  kind  of  man 
who  will  never  lose  this  quality  of  teachableness. 


224        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

JUDICIAL  MIND 

Sit  for  half  a  day  in  the  office  of  a  successful 
employment  supervisor  and  you  will  be  impressed 
with  the  essentially  judicial  quality  of  his  mind. 

First,  there  comes  an  applicant  desiring  work. 
The  applicant  presents  to  the  best  of  his  ability 
evidence  of  his  fitness.  In  the  candidate  as  he 
stands  there,  the  keen  eye  of  the  employment 
supervisor  sees  elements  of  both  fitness  and  unfit- 
ness;  he  sees  certain  qualities  which  would  fit  the 
applicant  for  one  kind  of  work,  and  other  qualities 
which  would  fit  him  for  another.  In  addition  to 
these  considerations,  there  may  be  recommenda- 
tions from  former  employers,  or  even  from  foremen 
or  department  heads  in  the  organization  who  wish 
the  man  employed  in  their  departments.  And  so 
there  is  presented  in  one  form  or  another  evidence 
for  the  man,  and  evidence  against  him. 

The  employment  supervisor  weighs  the  evidence, 
makes  sure  that  he  has  not  overlooked  any  of  the 
points,  that  he  has  accurate  and  definite  knowl- 
edge and  not  mere  guesswork  as  his  guide,  that  he 
gives  to  each  consideration  its  due  weight,  but  not 
too  much  weight,  and  that  he  reasons  logically  and 
soundly  to  his  conclusion.  He  either  sends  the 
applicant  to  some  foreman  or  head  of  department, 
with  a  recommendation,  or  tells  him  there  is  noth- 
ing for  him  and  why  there  is  nothing. 


EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISOR  225 

Next  comes  a  gang-boss  with  one  of  his  workers. 
They  do  not  work  peaceably  together.  The  boss 
says  he  wants  to  give  the  man  every  chance  to  do 
his  work  and  that  he  has  exhausted  his  resources  in 
attempting  to  arrive  at  a  basis  of  mutual  under- 
standing and  harmony  with  him.  The  workman 
says  he  wants  to  do  his  best  and  that  he  has  tried 
to  be  efficient  and  loyal,  but  maintains  that  the  boss 
is  suspicious  of  him  and  unjust  to  him.  The  em- 
ployment supervisor  listens  to  them,  one  at  a  time, 
hears  both  sides  without  prejudice,  and  renders  his 
decision. 

Next  comes  a  young  man  with  a  complaint 
against  his  immediate  superior.  The  employment 
supervisor  refuses  to  hear  a  word  of  it  until  he  has 
summoned  the  executive,  so  that  the  statement  can 
be  made  in  his  presence.  By  the  time  his  superior 
arrives  the  complainant  has  about  decided  that  he 
has  nothing  to  say. 

The  employment  supervisor  makes  it  clear  that 
he  is  always  ready  to  listen  to  and  will  encourage 
frank  statement  and  discussion  of  differences,  but 
that  he  will  not  permit  tattling  and  tale-bearing. 

In  any  mass  of  evidence  there  will  be  some  ap- 
parent contradictions.  They  are  seldom  real.  By 
careful  checking  they  can  almost  always  be  har- 
monized. A  reliable  judge  will  do  this.  The  ju- 
dicial mind,  with  its  deliberate,  sound  judgment, 


226        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

valuable  at  many  other  places  in  the  business,  is 
perhaps  most  valuable  in  an  employment  supervisor. 

KEEN    OBSERVATION 

As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  one  of  the  most 
difficult  lessons  for  the  average  person  to  learn  with 
reference  to  human  nature  is  that  no  one  feature 
or  indication  is  sufficient  basis  for  reliable  judgment. 
Everything  about  a  man  is  significant  of  his  char- 
acter. No  one  thing  tells  the  whole  story,  and  the 
only  way  to  be  certain  of  correct  judgment  is  to 
observe  accurately  and  weigh  carefully  every  indi- 
cation. To  do  this  one  must  have  not  only  good 
judgment  but  keen  observation.  Other  things 
being  equal,  we  select  for  employment  supervisors 
those  who  have  the  keenest  and  most  accurate  powers 
of  observation. 

Keenness  of  observation  is  partly  inherent,  but 
no  matter  what  the  natural  endowments  of  a  man, 
they  must  be  painstakingly  cultivated.  And  the 
way  to  cultivate  powers  of  observation  for  an  em- 
ployment supervisor  is  by  practice,  practice,  prac- 
tice— always  checking  up  and  verifying  deductions 
by  subsequent  behaviour  of  those  selected. 

The  six  requisites  (understanding  of  human  na- 
ture, sympathy,  tactfulness,  teachableness,  a  judi- 
cial mind,  and  keen  observation)  described  in  the 
foregoing  are  inherent,  fundamental,  and  indis- 


EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISOR  227 

pensable  in  any  employment  supervisor.  They 
depend  more  upon  natural  endowment  than  upon 
education.  We  have  found  any  man  having  them 
in  goodly  degree  fairly  well  equipped  for  the  posi- 
tion. To  these  qualifications,  however,  it  is  wise 
to  add  others  by  study  and  training.  One  of  the 
most  important  of  these  is  a  working  knowledge  of 
the  essential  qualities  required  for  each  class  of  work 
in  the  institution.  Employment  supervisors  work- 
ing under  our  plan  acquire  this  knowledge  by  care- 
ful study  of  duties,  efficiencies,  operations,  and 
other  factors,  by  taking  counsel  with  foremen, 
heads  of  departments,  and  other  executives,  by  con- 
sulting with  efficiency  experts  as  to  the  best  way  of 
doing  each  task  and  the  requirements  for  doing  it 
in  that  way. 

WOMEN   AS   EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISORS 

A  careful  consideration  of  these  seven  qualifica- 
tions will  perhaps  suggest  to  the  discriminating  that 
women  are  especially  fitted  for  the  position  of  em- 
ployment supervisor,  and  this  we  have  found  to  be 
the  case. 

In  one  institution,  a  young  woman  who  has  these 
qualities  in  an  unusual  degree,  with  comparatively 
little  instruction  from  us,  has  organized  an  employ- 
ment department  of  which  she  is  the  supervisor. 
So  resourceful  and  tactful  has  she  been  that  she 


228       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

has  won  the  hearty  cooperation  and  support  of  the 
management,  as  well  as  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  their  store  managers,  salesmen,  heads  of  depart- 
ments, foremen,  and  other  employees.  Another 
young  woman,  member  of  the  staff  of  an  employ- 
ment supervisor,  carried  the  entire  responsibility 
for  shop  employment  in  an  institution  with  2,500 
on  the  pay-roll.  She  was  treated  with  the  greatest 
respect  and  deference  by  even  the  roughest  and 
coarsest  labourers.  More  than  any  man  in  the  de- 
partment, she  was  able  to  gain  their  confidence. 
In  many  cases  her  ready  sympathies  and  quick, 
womanly  wit  enabled  her  to  adjust  difficulties  with 
which  the  men  could  not  cope.  In  other  cases  the 
men  brought  to  her  personal  and  family  troubles 
that  were  handicapping  them  in  their  work,  and 
she  was  able,  by  the  sound  common  sense  of  her 
advice,  to  suggest  practical  solutions  which  were 
often  accepted.  This  young  woman  was  able  to 
administer  discipline  effectively.  She  could  speak 
firmly  and  reprimand  men  in  a  way  that  would  not 
have  been  tolerated  from  a  foreman  or  superinten- 
dent, and  it  did  them  good. 

Here,  then,  is  a  new  field  for  women.  Here  also 
is  a  suggestion  to  employers  for  careful  considera- 
tion when  organizing  employment  departments. 

The  numerical  strength  of  the  employment 
supervisor's  staff  depends  largely  upon  circum- 


EMPLOYMENT  SUPERVISOR  229 

stances.  In  organizations  employing  only  a  few 
men,  the  employment  supervisor  himself  does  all 
the  work,  with  the  aid  of  a  clerk  and  stenographer. 
He  may  even  occupy  some  other  position.  In  a 
small  bank,  the  cashier  performs  the  duties  of  em- 
ployment supervisor.  In  some  retail  stores  the 
proprietor  himself  does  the  work.  In  a  large  or- 
ganization employing  upward  of  5,000  men,  the 
employment  supervisor  has  a  staff  of  six.  Of  these, 
four  interview  applicants,  attend  to  adjustments 
and  transfers,  standardize  requirements  for  posi- 
tions, and  in  general  assist  the  employment  super- 
visor in  his  dealings  with  employees.  One  handles 
the  correspondence,  and  one  takes  care  of  the  files 
and  records. 

SELECTION  OF  EXECUTIVES 

In  the  actual  work  of  interviewing  it  is  customary 
for  the  employment  supervisor  himself  to  select 
and  assign  department  heads  and  other  important 
executives.  In  the  selection  of  men  for  the  highest 
positions  in  the  organization  he  acts  in  an  advis- 
ory capacity  to  the  general  manager,  president,  or 
board  of  directors,  as  the  case  may  be.  Perhaps 
none  of  his  functions  is  more  important  than  this 
of  selecting  executives  and  higher  officials. 

The  executive  sounds  the  keynote  in  his  depart- 
ment, so  that  it  becomes  a  reflection  of  his  person- 


£30       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

ality.  Competent,  efficient  executives  who  think 
and  feel  constructively,  and  who  inspire  construc- 
tive thought  and  feeling  may  easily  build  up  any 
business  institution.  It  is  a  thankless  and  almost 
fruitless  task  to  select  a  force  of  reliable  and  effi- 
cient workers  in  the  lower  ranks  when  those  in  offi- 
cial chairs  are  unreliable  and  inefficient.  Too  many 
employment  supervisors  have  wasted  their  time 
and  energy  in  trying  to  build  up  an  ideal  organiza- 
tion from  the  bottom.  The  place  to  begin  is  at  the 
top. 

Those  employment  supervisors  are  most  success- 
ful who  begin  by  securing  the  cooperation  of  the 
management,  help  to  select  executives  and  depart- 
ment heads  who  are  efficient  and  trustworthy; 
then  cooperate  closely  with  them  to  build  up  the 
desired  quality  in  the  rank  and  file. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SOME  FUNCTIONS  OF  AN  EMPLOYMENT 
DEPARTMENT 

THE  functions  of  an  employment  department 
vary  according  to  the  size,  location,  char- 
acter, and  organization  of  the  institution  in 
which  it  is  installed.     Some  departments  exercise 
a  very  wide  range  of  functions,  covering  practically 
all  relations  between  employer  and    employees. 
Others  are  more  restricted  in  their  scope.      But 
there  are  certain  functions  common  to  all.     These 
we  shall  discuss  in  this  chapter. 

RECOMMENDS   FOR   EMPLOYMENT 

It  is  not  the  function  of  the  employment  depart- 
ment arbitrarily  to  employ  and  discharge  help.  It 
is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  employment 
supervisor  does  not  give  orders  to  executives  and 
their  employees;  that  his  function  is  to  secure 
information,  classify  knowledge,  and  make  recom- 
mendations for  action. 

The  employment  department,  having  determined 
just  what  kind  of  employees  are  wanted  in  the  or- 

231 


232        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

ganization,  makes  use  of  its  knowledge  and  equip- 
ment in  securing  the  very  best  available  people, 
analyzes  and  classifies  these  applicants  scientifi- 
cally, and  recommends  them  for  employment  ac- 
cording to  their  fitness. 

Human  beings  for  the  most  part  are  easily  led, 
and  it  is  not  hard  to  persuade  them  to  accept  com- 
petent assistants.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult,  how- 
ever, to  drive  them.  The  average  executive  is  not 
only  willing  but  glad  to  have  a  good  man  recom- 
mended to  him  by  even  a  mediocre  employment 
supervisor,  but  he  rebels,  and  rightly,  when  he  has 
men  forced  upon  him,  no  matter  how  good  they  are 
or  how  expert  the  employment  supervisor. 

REASSIGNS  AND   READJUSTS 

Rarely  is  it  our  privilege  to  install  an  employ- 
ment department  in  a  brand-new  organization  at 
the  very  inception  of  its  work.  That  would  be  the 
ideal  way,  for  then  every  worker  in  the  organiza- 
tion would  be  scientifically  chosen.  In  the  great 
majority  of  cases,  employment  departments  are 
installed  in  organizations  where  other  methods 
have  been  in  use  for  longer  or  shorter  periods.  The 
department,  therefore,  finds  practically  all  positions 
filled  when  it  begins  its  work.  Some  of  these  posi- 
tions may  be  filled  with  competent  and  efficient 
men;  others  not. 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT      233 

It  is  a  function  of  the  employment  department 
to  make  readjustments  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
Generally  we  find  that  most  employees  can  be 
saved  to  the  organization  by  transferring  those 
who  are  misfits  to  places  where  they  fit.  As  al- 
ready indicated,  it  has  been  found  best  to  make 
these  transfers  and  readjustments  gradually,  and 
as  occasion  arises. 

In  handling  human  beings,  under  any  conditions, 
the  lessons  of  political,  industrial,  and  commercial 
history  teach  plainly  enough  the  truth  that  changes 
must  be  brought  about  by  a  process  of  evolution, 
rather  than  by  a  sweeping  revolution,  if  best  re- 
sults are  to  be  obtained  at  least  expense. 

The  advantages  gained  by  institutions  and  in- 
dividuals as  the  result  of  this  process  of  readjust- 
ment and  transfer  are  sometimes  very  great.  In 
one  institution,  for  example,  we  found  a  super- 
intendent of  one  of  the  factories  wrho  held  his  posi- 
tion because  he  was  a  brother-in-law  of  the  general 
manager.  Very  soon  after  the  department  began 
its  work  there,  the  superintendent  came  in  and  re- 
quested an  interview.  In  straightforward  sincer- 
ity he  confessed  that,  although  his  intentions  were 
good,  he  was  a  failure  as  superintendent. 

"My  men  think  a  lot  of  me,"  he  said,  "and 
would  do  anything  for  me.  With  such  backing  I 
ought  to  be  making  a  star  record.  But  I  can 't  get 


234      THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

details  into  my  head.  In  spite  of  all  I  can  do,  I 
keep  on  making  blunders — some  of  them  pretty 
bad.  I  tell  you,  I  am  nervous  and  scared  all  the 
time  for  fear  one  of  my  mistakes  may  get  somebody 
killed  or  blow  up  the  shop.  I'm  in  the  wrong  job 
as  superintendent." 

The  man  was  absolutely  right.  He  was  splen- 
didly qualified  in  many  ways  but  had  so  little  ca- 
pacity for  details  that  it  would  be  hard  to  imagine 
a  poorer  choice  for  superintendent  of  a  factory. 
At  our  suggestion  he  was  transferred  to  the  sales 
department,  where  he  has  made  a  gratifying  rec- 
ord. 

On  one  of  our  great  railroads  a  young  man  who 
was  marking  time  and  making  only  mediocre  suc- 
cess as  stenographer  in  the  traffic  manager's  office 
was  transferred  to  the  purchasing  department. 
There  he  speedily  proved  his  special  aptitude  for 
that  kind  of  work.  Within  a  comparatively  few 
years,  and  while  still  very  young,  this  former  stenog- 
rapher became  purchasing  agent  not  only  for  this 
railroad  but  for  all  associated  lines.  His  superiors 
and  associates  tell  us  that  he  is  without  question 
one  of  the  most  efficient  railway  purchasing  agents 
in  the  country. 

In  Cleveland,  Ohio,  we  found  a  young  man  work- 
ing as  a  common  mechanic  upon  heavy,  coarse 
machinery.  He  was  discontented,  unhappy,  and 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT     235 

doing  only  just  enough  work  to  hold  his  job.  In 
fact,  his  foreman  was  only  waiting  for  a  good  op- 
portunity to  let  him  go.  Seeing  fine  mechanical 
and  executive  ability  in  the  young  man,  we  recom- 
mended his  transfer  to  a  department  where  he  could 
work  on  light  machinery,  with  fine  tools,  and  where 
an  element  of  beauty  entered  into  his  work;  also 
that  he  be  made  understudy  to  the  foreman.  The 
change  was  accordingly  made,  and  as  a  result  the 
young  man  awoke,  became  ambitious,  threw  him- 
self heartily  into  his  work,  and  astonished  his  su- 
periors. To-day  he  is  part  owner  and  general 
manager  of  a  prosperous  automobile  factory. 

In  every  institution  where  ordinary  methods  of 
employment  have  been  used  there  will  be  found 
some  employees  who  are  either  unfit  for  any  class 
of  work  in  that  particular  institution  or,  because 
of  serious  mental,  moral,  or  physical  deficiencies, 
utterly  unfit  for  employment  in  any  capacity.  It 
is  the  function  of  an  employment  department  to 
eliminate  such  people  from  the  organization  as 
rapidly  and  with  as  little  friction  and  trouble  as 
possible.  For  those  who  might  be  good  assets  in 
a  concern  doing  some  other  kind  of  work  it  is  often 
easy  to  find  openings.  A  well-conducted  and  suc- 
cessful employment  department  soon  becomes 
known  to  other  business  concerns.  Letters  and 
telegrams  from  them  are  constantly  coming  in 


236       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

asking  for  reliable  men  who  perhaps  do  not  fit  in 
the  organization  where  the  employment  department 
is,  but  who  would  be  valuable  in  some  other  line  of 
business. 

HANDLES  MISFITS 

Building  up  an  ideal  organization  is  slow  work. 
Indeed,  since  every  organization  must  be  composed 
of  faulty  and  imperfect  human  beings,  the  ideal  is 
always  just  out  of  reach.  It  is  never  possible  to 
fill  every  position  with  the  man  who  has  all  the  stand- 
ard requirements,  or  to  eliminate  from  the  organi- 
zation all  undesirables.  Besides,  there  is  no  profit  in 
discharging  an  unfit  employee  only  to  fill  his  place 
with  one  equally  or  even  more  unfit.  We  have 
sometimes  retained  men  in  important  positions 
long  after  it  had  been  decided  to  remove  them,  while 
we  were  looking  for  just  the  right  men  to  fill  their 
places.  The  need  in  all  such  cases  is  to  shift  unde- 
sirables to  positions  where  they  will  be  least  ob- 
jectionable and  to  place  them  under  such  restric- 
tions and  supervision  as  will  leave  them  with  the 
least  opportunity  for  doing  harm. 

PROVIDES   UNDERSTUDIES 

Human  affairs  are  subject  to  change.  Even  the 
best  and  seemingly  the  most  reliable  executive  or 
other  employee  may  die  or  resign  or  be  promoted. 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT     237 

In  such  cases  employers  often  find  themselves 
greatly  embarrassed.  The  more  valuable  the  em- 
ployee, as  a  general  rule,  the  more  difficult  it  is  to 
find  a  successor.  While  the  place  is  vacant,  often- 
times the  employer  suffers  serious  loss. 

It  is  the  function  of  an  employment  department 
to  provide  against  such  emergencies.  The  best 
way  to  do  this,  from  every  point  of  view,  is  to  see 
that  every  important  employee  in  the  organization 
has-  a  competent  understudy. 

There  is  always  less  friction  in  making  a  change 
when  a  man  is  promoted  from  within  the  organiza- 
tion. Such  a  man  understands  the  policies,  the 
traditions,  the  ideals,  and  the  methods  of  the  house. 
He  knows  and  understands  his  associates,  subordi- 
nates, and  superiors.  If  he  has  been  an  under- 
study, he  understands  the  duties  of  the  particular 
position  to  which  he  is  promoted  and  assumes 
them  without  delay,  without  an  expensive  period 
of  "learning  the  ropes,"  and  without  a  moment's 
groping  takes  hold  of  obscure  but  important  de- 
tails of  the  position. 

The  effect  upon  the  spirit  of  other  employees  is 
important.  "I  wish  you  would  tell  me  what  is 
the  matter  with  my  men,"  one  employer  said  to  us. 
"They  are  well  paid.  Their  hours  of  labour  are 
short.  I  do  my  best  to  treat  them  kindly  and  con- 
siderately. And  yet  they  are  discontented,  un- 


238       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

grateful,  and  most  of  the  time  almost  in  a  state  of 
mutiny.  What  is  the  trouble  ? ' ' 

It  required  only  a  short  investigation  to  find  the 
trouble.  On  three  different  occasions  within  a  year 
some  important  and  desirable  position  had  become 
vacant.  On  each  occasion  the  men  expected  that 
one  of  their  own  number  would  be  promoted. 
Notwithstanding  his  good  intentions,  and  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  had  men  in  his  own  or- 
ganization who  could  have  filled  the  positions 
creditably,  this  short-sighted  manager  had  brought 
in  people  from  the  outside. 

In  contrast  with  this  is  the  case  of  an  organiza- 
tion where  we  did  some  work.  Here  we  found  that 
every  man  in  an  important  executive  or  staff  posi- 
tion had  been  promoted  from  the  ranks,  and  that  in 
twenty  years  only  one  man  had  been  brought  in 
from  the  outside  to  fill  a  position  of  authority  and 
responsibility. 

It  used  to  be  a  very  common  thing  for  employers 
to  hire  stars  away  from  other  organizations  by  offer- 
ing them  fabulous  salaries.  This  practice  has  fallen 
more  and  more  into  disuse  as  one  after  another 
of  these  high-priced  acquisitions  has  proved  to  be 
a  losing  investment.  While  other  managers  are 
purchasing  star  players  from  other  teams  at  from 
five  to  twenty  thousand  dollars  each,  and  then 
paying  them  big  salaries,  "Connie  Mack"  (Corne- 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT     239 

lius  McGillicuddy)  chooses  his  players  from  among 
college  boys  and  amateurs.  He  doesn  't  pay  a  cent 
for  their  release,  and  they  are  only  too  glad  to  start 
in  at  moderate  salaries.  But  Connie  Mack  knows 
men.  He  can  see  in  a  young  man  the  aptitudes 
which,  with  proper  training,  will  make  him  a  world's 
champion  pitcher  or  catcher,  and  he  knows  how  to 
give  that  kind  of  training. 

SECURES  DESIRABLE  APPLICANTS 

Just  as  Connie  Mack  and  other  successful  base- 
ball managers  have  their  scouts  scouring  the  country 
for  promising  material,  so  an  efficient  employment 
department  is  always  alert  and  aggressively  seek- 
ing desirable  men,  principally  within  the  organiza- 
tion, but  in  general  wherever  they  are  likely  to  be 
found.  These  prospective  captains,  managers,  and 
generals  are  analyzed,  their  abilities  are  carefully 
studied,  and  the  analysis,  together  with  other  useful 
information,  is  kept  for  reference  in  the  files  of  the 
employment  department.  The  longer  such  a  list 
is  and  the  more  carefully  it  is  kept,  the  more  valu- 
able it  becomes. 

KEEPS    RELIABLE    AND    ADEQUATE    RECORDS 

One  of  the  most  important  of  all  the  functions 
of  an  employment  department  is  the  keeping  of 
records.  The  spirit  of  the  age  is  scientific.  Con- 


240       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

elusions  are  based  not  upon  personal  opinion,  not 
upon  hearsay,  not  upon  mere  guesses  or  estimates, 
but  upon  accurate  and  reliable  exact  knowledge. 

What  does  it  cost  to  operate  an  employment  de- 
partment? Its  records  show.  What  is  the  finan- 
cial benefit  to  the  organization  of  an  employment 
department?  The  records  give  the  answer.  What 
is  the  value  of  this  man?  Should  he  be  trans- 
ferred, or  promoted,  or  demoted,  or  discharged? 
What  is  his  record?  What  has  been  his  perform- 
ance, his  deportment?  What  is  the  value  of  this 
executive's  opinion  of  his  men?  His  opinions  are 
recorded  and  on  the  same  record  are  shown  the 
actual  performances  of  his  men.  How  do  they 
agree?  How  accurately  do  the  employment  super- 
visor and  members  of  his  staff  analyze  applicants, 
and  how  wisely  do  they  select,  assign,  and  transfer 
employees?  Here  are  their  analyses  in  the  records, 
and  here  are  the  showings  of  the  employees.  How 
do  they  compare?  What  percentage  of  employees 
selected  by  the  employment  department  prove  to 
be  well  fitted  for  their  positions  and  efficient  in 
them?  Consult  the  records. 

The  records  of  the  employment  department  are 
thus  a  guide  for  the  future  work  of  the  department 
and  a  reliable  measure  of  its  efficiency.  They  afford 
a  scientific  basis  for  dealing  with  each  employee. 
They  show  the  trend  of  the  whole  organization- 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT 

They  are  a  valuable  source  of  study  to  the  employ- 
ment supervisor  and  his  staff,  ripening  and  perfect- 
ing their  understanding  and  practical  application 
of  the  principles  upon  which  employees  are  ana- 
lyzed. If  desired,  the  general  manager  and  other 
executives  may  have  on  their  desks,  daily,  weekly, 
or  monthly,  a  report  showing  the  number  of  em- 
ployees hired,  promoted,  transferred,  or  increased 
in  compensation  during  the  period  covered,  to- 
gether with  such  other  information  as  occasion  re- 
quires. In  this  way  they  may  keep  fully  informed 
regarding  the  employment  situation. 

ADJUSTS  DIFFERENCES  AND   HEARS  COMPLAINTS 

Every  employee  is  given  to  understand  that  he 
may  come  freely  to  the  employment  department 
and  state  his  grievances,  if  he  has  any,  and  that 
every  case  of  inefficiency,  discontent,  inharmony, 
and  misunderstanding  will  be  decided  only  upon 
the  evidence  and  always  with  a  desire  to  be 
just. 

In  an  institution  where  an  employment  depart- 
ment had  been  installed,  a  foreman  noticed  that 
one  of  his  best  workers  was  becoming  careless.  The 
man,  who  had  always  been  accurate  and  reliable, 
committed  one  blunder  after  another.  Day  by 
day  these  became  more  frequent  and  more  exasper- 
ating. He  remonstrated  with  the  man,  at  first 


242       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

kindly,  then  more  sharply,  but  the  man  did  not  im- 
prove. Then  the  foreman  warned  him  two  or  three 
times,  and  finally  returned  him  to  the  employment 
department.  The  department  investigated  and 
found  that  the  man's  wife  had  been  ill  for  many 
weeks,  and  that  he  had  been  losing  sleep  while  he 
sat  up  and  nursed  her  night  after  night.  He  was 
reprimanded  for  not  reporting  the  case  to  the  em- 
ployment department  at  the  beginning.  The  com- 
pany's  nurse  was  sent  to  the  home  and  the  man 
given  a  vacation  on  full  pay  to  recuperate.  In  a 
few  days  the  man  returned  to  work  with  his  former 
efficiency.  Thus  a  valuable  asset  was  saved  to  the 
company  and  the  psychical  effect,  not  only  upon 
this  one  man  but  his  fellow- workers,  was  worth 
many  times  the  cost.  This  incident  illustrates 
one  of  the  most  important  functions  of  an  employ- 
ment department — namely,  the  care  of  the  health 
of  employees. 

GIVES  MEDICAL  EXAMINATIONS  —  SUPERVISES 
SANITATION 

In  every  department  there  is  a  medical  division 
under  the  direction  of  a  competent  physician,  who 
gives  either  all  or  part  of  his  time  according  to  the 
size  of  the  institution  and  character  of  work  done. 
It  is  the  duty  of  this  physician,  when  called  upon, 
to  examine  applicants  before  they  are  finally  recom- 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT     243 

mended.  The  department  maintains  such  emer- 
gency and  other  hospitals  as  may  be  needed;  keeps 
close  supervision  over  the  health  of  all  employees 
and  over  sanitation  in  the  offices,  factories,  and 
stores  of  the  concern;  and  also  in  the  homes  of  em- 
ployees; supplies  competent  nurses,  who  are  often 
far  more  important  than  physicians,  and  gives 
instruction  to  all  employees  in  regard  to  hygiene 
and  sanitation. 

SUPERVISES  "WELFARE  WORK" 

Night  schools,  training  classes,  apprentice 
schools,  musical,  literary,  and  athletic  clubs  within 
the  organization;  lunch  rooms,  rest  rooms,  enter- 
tainments, dances,  games,  sports,  safety,  insur- 
ance, loans,  pensions,  and  all  other  such  features 
of  what  is  known  as  welfare  work  or  social  better- 
ment among  employees  are  most  efficiently  cared 
for  by  the  employment  department.  When  a  de- 
partment is  organized  under  the  direction  and 
supervision  of  a  properly  selected  and  trained  em- 
ployment supervisor,  all  these  activities  are  left 
to  his  discretion. 

In  short,  it  is  the  function  of  the  employment 
department  to  compile  all  necessary  data  and, 
working  from  these  data  as  a  basis,  to  do  every- 
thing possible  to  build  up  an  ideal  organization 
such  as  we  have  pictured  in  Chapter  II. 


244        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

SEEKS    COOPERATION    OF    MANAGEMENT 

In  all  its  functions  the  employment  department 
proceeds  with  the  knowledge  that  it  cannot  stand 
alone.  To  be  successful  it  must  have  the  support 
and  hearty  cooperation  of  the  management  and  of 
every  other  department  in  the  organization.  Its 
work  must  be  made  a  definite  part  of  the  policy  of 
the  concern.  This,  as  we  have  before  indicated,  is 
sometimes  one  of  the  hardest  tasks  the  employment 
department  has  to  perform. 

It  often  happens  that  some  department  head  has 
excellent  reasons  of  his  own  for  opposing  the  use  of 
scientific  methods.     In  one  case  where  we  were 
installing  an  employment  department,  an  important 
official  refused  to  cooperate  with  us,  would  not 
even  see  us,  blustered  and  slammed  his  receiver 
up  in  our  face  when  we  tried  to  talk  to  him  over 
the  telephone.      Afterward  we  met  the  gentleman 
quite  by  accident  and  had  an  opportunity  to  look 
him  over.     It  was  immediately  and  abundantly 
clear  why  he  had  violently  resisted  the  presence  on 
the  general  manager 's  staff  of  any  one  who  was  re- 
puted to  be  able  to  read  character.     In  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  business,  a  few  weeks  later,  we  were 
requested  to  report  upon  a  number  of  executives 
in  the  organization.     This  man 's  name  was  on  the 
list.     We  were  obliged  to  advise  an  immediate  in- 
vestigation of  his  department.    The  investigation 


AN  EMPLOYMENT  DEPARTMENT      245 

followed,  and  such  serious  inefficiencies  and  ir- 
regularities were  found  that  the  organization  was 
speedily  relieved  of  this  executive. 

It  is  not  always  necessary,  however,  to  take  such 
drastic  action. 

Securing  the  cooperation  of  the  management  of 
any  institution  is  frequently  difficult  but  seldom 
impossible.  However,  it  requires  patience,  tact, 
courage,  good  nature,  persistence,  and,  above  all,  a 
true  and  genuine  desire  to  render  service  to  the  or- 
ganization. In  many  cases  the  employment  de- 
partment has  received  the  sincere  and  enthusiastic 
cooperation  of  the  management  from  the  very  be- 
ginning. In  such  cases  the  work  is  a  pleasure,  and 
the  results  obtained  more  than  justify  our  most 
sanguine  expectations  for  the  application  of  scien* 
tific  methods  to  employment. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  ART  OF  HANDLING  MEN 

THERE    are   two  distinct  factors  in   the 
successful   handling  of  men:      First,  the 
boss,  or   executive;   second,  the  workers, 
or  subordinates. 

SELF-MASTERY 

No  man  can  ever  hope  successfully  to  handle 
other  men  who  cannot  first  master  himself. 

Some  examples  will  illustrate: 

There  is  a  type  of  man  who  is  often  found  in  a 
position  where  he  has  charge  of  others  who  is  him- 
self personally  inefficient.  He  is  careless.  He  is 
thoughtless.  He  is  hot-headed  and  emotional. 
He  constantly  makes  errors.  He  loses  and  mislays 
things.  He  procrastinates.  And  for  all  these 
inefficiencies  he  holds  himself  blameless  and  shoul- 
ders the  responsibility  upon  his  subordinates.  No 
one  ever  knows  where  to  find  him  or  how  to  please 
him.  He  is  as  whimsical  as  a  spoiled  child.  When 
pleased  he  is  honeyed  of  speech  and  extravagant  in 
praise.  When  displeased  he  is  erratic,  unjust,  and 

246  , 


THE  ART  OF  HANDLING  MEN 

vindictive.  He  makes  promises  lightly  which  per- 
haps at  the  moment  he  expects  to  fulfil.  But  he 
quickly  forgets  them.  This  man  and  every  one 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  are  at  the  mercy  of 
his  emotions.  His  intellect,  will,  and  sense  of  jus- 
tice are  all  subordinate  to  the  way  he  "feels." 

Another  type  is  the  self-centred  man  who  meas- 
ures every  one  by  his  own  erroneous  conception 
of  himself.  In  a  position  of  authority  he  sets  him- 
self up  to  be  adored  and  worshipped.  He  is  ex- 
tremely jealous  of  his  authority,  wants  to  "know  it 
all,"  and  resents  suggestions  from  any  one,  prob- 
ably fearing  that  to  accept  them  will  lower  him  in 
the  estimation  of  others.  This  man  is  usually 
prejudiced,  narrow,  and  bigoted,  and  in  dealing 
with  others  assumes  a  patronizing  air.  In  rendering 
decisions  he  is  apt  to  show  the  most  unexpected 
pettiness. 

Another,  unsuccessful  in  the  highest  meaning  of 
the  term,  is  the  unsympathetic,  harsh,  exacting, 
unforgiving,  relentless  man  who  attempts  to  rule 
others  by  fear.  Fear,  like  brute  strength,  is  one  of 
the  crudest  weapons  possessed  by  mankind.  Fear 
always  engenders  hatred.  So  the  man  who  is  feared 
invariably  has  the  hatred  and  contempt  of  others. 

None  of  these  types  is  successful  in  handling 
men.  There  are  many  others,  and  some  of  them  no 
doubt  will  be  suggested  by  those  we  have  described. 


248        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

There  are  certain  qualities  of  character  which  ap- 
peal to  all  mankind.  The  individual  who  possesses 
them  can  handle  others  without  difficulty. 

SENSE   OF   JUSTICE 

At  the  head  of  the  list  we  place  a  keen  sense  of 
justice.  In  the  broad  sense  of  the  term,  a  sense  of 
justice  includes  honesty,  the  disposition  to  give 
the  square  deal,  integrity,  truthfulness,  and  the 
ability  to  weigh  all  the  evidence  before  rendering  a 
decision.  No  matter  how  untruthful  and  dishonest 
a  man  may  be,  he  invariably  respects  one  who  is 
truthful  and  just. 

A  young  man  was  once  heard  to  remark  as  he 
was  leaving  his  superior's  office,  "He  is  the  whit- 
est man  I  ever  knew."  "Why?"  inquired  one  of 
his  associates.  "Did  he  reinstate  you?"  "Rein- 
state me?  No,  he  fired  me.  But  he  talked  to  me 
like  a  father." 

DEPENDABLENESS 

Scarcely  less  indispensable  than  a  keen  sense  of 
justice  is  the  quality  of  dependableness,  stead- 
fastness, or  constancy.  In  speaking  of  his  chief, 
a  man  once  said:  "He  is  the  most  dependable  man 
I  have  ever  known.  Day  after  day,  no  matter 
what  the  circumstances,  he  is  the  same  considerate 
and  gentlemanly  fellow  that  you  see  to-day.  He 


THE  ART  OF  HANDLING  MEN      249 

never  makes  promises  that  he  does  not  keep,  and 
in  all  the  years  I  have  worked  for  him  I  have  never 
known  him  to  lose  his  temper."  Perhaps  no 
quality  in  an  executive  gives  greater  confidence 
to  his  subordinates  than  to  know  that  when  he 
appears  in  the  morning  he  will  greet  them  with  a 
pleasant  and  responsive  smile,  and  that  under  all 
circumstances  they  will  know  exactly  what  to 
expect  from  him. 

COURAGE 

Successful  dealing  with  others  sometimes  re- 
quires great  courage.  It  takes  courage  to  admin- 
ister rebuke  even  when  the  offender  richly  deserves 
it.  It  takes  courage  to  refrain  from  being  extrav- 
agant in  one's  praise  when  some  kindly  act  has 
been  directed  toward  one's  self.  But  perhaps 
courage  is  required  most  of  all  to  admit  that  one  is 
wrong.  And  so,  third  on  our  list  of  desirable 
qualities  of  character,  we  place  courage. 

SYMPATHY  AND  LOVE 

Even  the  most  unresponsive  and  callous  indi- 
vidual is  mellowed  when  convinced  that  you  are 
genuinely  interested  in  him  and  his  welfare.  The 
quality  of  human  sympathy  is  indispensable  in 
dealing  with  others.  We  often  criticise  others 
harshly  and  unjustly,  largely  because  we  are  un- 


250        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

able  to  put  ourselves  in  their  place.  One  of  the 
cardinal  principles  in  salesmanship  is  to  secure 
the  name  of  the  customer  and  remember  it  so  as  to 
address  him  by  name  when  next  you  meet  him. 
This  is  only  one  indirect  way  of  showing  the  qual- 
ity of  friendly  interest  and  sympathy. 

Very  closely  akin  to  sympathy  is  the  quality  of 
love.  One  almost  hesitates  to  use  the  term,  so 
greatly  has  it  been  misused.  There  is  a  sloppy 
sentimentality  current  among  some  types  of  busi- 
ness men  which  is  pure  affectation.  Its  use  is 
greatly  to  be  deplored.  Even  an  animal  knows 
whether  or  not  you  are  fond  of  it.  We  know  a 
sociable  little  kitten  who  looks  over  every  guest 
that  comes  into  the  house,  and  never  once  has  she 
committed  the  blunder  of  making  overtures  to 
any  one  who  does  not  like  cats.  One  is  naturally 
drawn  to  those  who  have  in  their  hearts  a  sincere 
love  of  humanity  and  who  express  that  love, 
not  in  extravagant  and  endearing  terms,  but  in 
acts  of  genuine  kindness  and  affection. 

During  a  strike  on  a  street  railway  line,  one  of 
the  officials,  who  had  temporarily  taken  up  his 
residence  in  a  downtown  hotel,  observed  that  one 
of  his  Irish  foremen  was  also  stopping  at  the  same 
place,  and  no  matter  where  the  official  went  it 
seemed  that  big  Mike  was  always  near  him.  After 
a  few  days  he  said  to  the  man:  "Mike,  I  know 


THE  ART  OF  HANDLING  MEN         251 

that  your  salary  isn't  big  enough  for  you  to  af- 
ford to  live  at  this  hotel.  What  are  you  doing 
here,  anyway?"  By  means  of  considerable  ques- 
tioning he  persuaded  Mike  to  confess:  "Well,  sir, 
ye  see  thim  Dagos  threatened  to  git  ye  and  I 
thought  I'd  better  be  handy."  That  incident  hap- 
pened many  years  ago,  but  even  to-day  this  official 
cannot  mention  Michael  Flaherty  without  a  mist  in 
his  eyes. 

TACTFULNESS 

We  have  known  men  to  possess  all  of  the  desir- 
able qualities  we  have  mentioned  and  yet  fail  of 
the  greatest  success  because  they  lacked  the  tact- 
fulness  necessary  to  handle  a  difficult  situation. 
There  are  those  who  are  so  dynamic  that  their 
words  are  like  sledge-hammer  blows,  and  when 
with  the  best  intentions  they  administer  a  repri- 
mand they  are  often  surprised  to  find  that  they 
have  utterly  paralyzed  the  activities  of  their  work- 
ers. It  requires  both  courtesy  and  tactfulness  to 
deal  successfully  with  others. 

TEACHABLENESS 

Our  list  of  desirable  human  qualities  would  be 
far  from  complete  if  we  omitted  teachableness. 
There  is  none  so  wise  but  that  he  may  learn  from 
others.  We  have  known  many  executives  who 


THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

were  not  above  the  average  in  ability  who  scored 
great  successes  because  they  were  open-minded 
and  had  the  happy  faculty  of  securing  suggestions 
of  value  from  their  workers. 

UNDERSTANDING    OF    PEOPLE 

Supplement  the  foregoing  human  qualities  with 
an  understanding  of  character  and  you  have  the 
man  who  can  handle  others.  An  efficiency  expert 
made  up  from  time  studies  a  schedule  for  a  given 
workman.  He  went  to  his  worker  and  explained 
to  him  that  he  had  made  up  a  very  easy  schedule, 
allowing  twenty-four  minutes  in  which  to  com- 
plete each  piece.  Said  he:  "Now  you  can  make 
one  in  twenty-four  minutes  or  you  can  beat  it," 
meaning  of  course  that  he  could  easily  make  the 
piece  in  less  than  the  allotted  time.  The  work- 
man received  the  explanation  in  silence,  and  a  few 
minutes  after  the  efficiency  man  had  gone  he  went 
to  his  foreman  and  asked  for  his  time.  "But  why 
are  you  quitting?"  insisted  the  foreman.  "Well, 
you  know  that  efficiency  man.  He  came  around 
a  little  while  ago  and  said  that  I  could  either  make 
a  pinion  every  twenty-four  minutes  or  get-to-hell 
out  of  here."  This  incident  is  significant.  More 
inharmony  and  friction  between  men  result  from 
misunderstanding  than  from  any  other  one  cause. 

Each  individual  is  in  many  respects  like  others. 


THE  ART  OF  HANDLING  MEN        £53 

and  a  general  policy  or  a  given  attitude  will,  in  a 
measure,  fit  all;  but  each  individual  also  has  his 
peculiarities  and  in  some  particulars  is  different 
from  every  one  else.  So  the  man  who  expects  to 
deal  with  all  men  in  the  same  manner  cannot  hope 
to  be  more  than  a  partial  success. 

There  is  a  type  of  man  who  is  wholly  unable  to 
reason  logically.  He  reaches  his  conclusions  by 
intuition  and  decides  every  question  in  the  light 
of  self-interest.  He  is  found  among  all  grades  of 
men,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  We  have 
seen  executives  waste  hours  trying  to  reason  this 
type  out  of  his  decision  and  then  grow  furiously 
angry  when  the  man  failed  to  respond.  Under- 
standing of  the  man  alone  will  save  one  the  humil- 
iation of  expecting  from  another  what  he  is  unable 
to  give.  We  do  not  grow  angry  when  a  deaf  man 
fails  to  hear  us.  We  observe  his  infirmity  and 
take  different  measures  from  sound  to  communi- 
cate with  him.  When  a  man  lacks  the  power  of 
reason  or  lacks  any  other  human  trait,  we  should 
observe  his  deficiency  and  use  measures  in  dealing 
with  him  that  do  not  require  the  exercise  of  the 
deficient  faculty. 

There  are  many  other  human  traits  that  are 
admirable  and  lovable  that  go  to  make  up  the  all- 
around,  well-developed  man,  and  which  contrib- 
ute to  success.  But  the  man  who  possesses  in 


254       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

strong  degree  a  keen  sense  of  justice,  dependable- 
ness,  courage,  sympathy,  love,  tactfulness,  cour- 
tesy, teachableness,  and  an  understanding  of 
human  nature,  will  be  more  than  an  ordinary 
success. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

EDUCATING  EMPLOYEES 

TTT  IS  characteristic  of  an  age  of  machinery  that 
the  average  employer  of  yesterday  should  re- 
JL  gard  his  employees  largely  as  fixed  values,  ca- 
pable perhaps  of  some  increase  in  efficiency  through 
improved  methods,  but  fundamentally  unchange- 
able and  unchanging  until  they  begin  to  wear  out. 
If  the  employer  of  large  numbers  of  men  was  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  they  were  capable  of  growth 
and  development,  he  gave  very  little  evidence  of 
this  consciousness  until  recently. 

We  have  known  employers  who  paid  $10,000  a 
year  to  an  expert  to  train  their  horses,  or  $5,000  a 
year  to  a  dog  trainer,  but  not  one  cent  for  the  train- 
ing and  education  of  the  men  and  women  upon 
whose  ability  and  efficiency  they  depended  for 
success  in  business.  We  have  heard  the  heads  of 
corporations  complain  bitterly  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  find  men  capable  of  filling  their  ten,  fifteen, 
and  thirty  thousand  dollar  a  year  positions.  Yet 
these  same  corporations  have  had  thousands  of 
men  in  their  employ  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 

255 


256        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS  , 

century,  and  have  left  their  development  into  extra- 
ordinary ability  wholly  to  chance.  So  obsessed 
are  some  otherwise  intelligent  employers  by  the 
machine  idea  of  man  that  we  have  seen  them  resist 
stubbornly  a  proposition  to  invest  so  little  a  sum 
as  $25  each  in  the  education  of  a  picked  class  of 
their  employees,  and  this  when  the  employees  were 
sufficiently  interested  and  ambitious  to  be  willing 
to  invest  $25  each  of  their  own  money  in  the  tui- 
tion. We  have  seen  employers  reluctantly  con- 
sent to  spend  a  few  dollars  on  the  organization  of 
a  class  for  study  of  some  special  educational  fea- 
ture; then  turn  over  the  class  to  the  employees 
themselves,  giving  nothing  of  their  moral  support 
and  personal  attention  to  the  success  of  the  ven- 
ture. This  is  the  type  of  employer  who  after- 
ward insists  against  all  argument  that  it  is  a  waste 
of  money  to  establish  classes  for  employees  —  he 
has  tried  it  and  he  knows. 

BUSINESS  INSTITUTIONS  AS  SCHOOLS 

With  the  rapid  growth  of  industry,  with  the 
unprecedented  increase  in  the  size  of  our  manufac- 
turing and  commercial  institutions,  and  in  the 
number  of  men  employed,  with  the  excessive  empha- 
sis which  has  been  placed  upon  machinery  and 
other  equipment,  upon  methods  and  system,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  employers  have  overlooked  the 


EDUCATING  EMPLOYEES  257 

fact  that  in  their  employees  they  have  unguessed 
resources  of  mental  and  psychical  wealth-produc- 
ing power  waiting  only  for  development.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  they  have  until  very  recently 
failed  to  grasp  the  possibilities  for  development  of 
individual  capabilities  in  the  relationship  between 
employer  and  employee.  Certain  great  minds  have 
perceived  this  truth  in  comparatively  recent  years. 
Educational  work  done  in  the  institutions  they 
dominate  has  demonstrated  that  not  even  in  our 
best  schools  and  colleges  have  we  so  effective  an 
opportunity  for  education  as  in  our  commercial  and 
industrial  institutions. 

It  is  the  modern  idea  in  education  that  we  learn 
best  by  doing,  that  there  is  greater  development  of 
better  quality  achieved  through  the  intelligently 
guided  and  instructed  work  of  the  hands  than 
through  the  study  of  books  or  listening  to  lectures 
alone.  This  is  one  principle  underlying  the  Monte- 
sorri  Method,  manual  training,  vocational  training, 
farm  and  industrial  schools,  and  other  of  the  newer 
methods  of  education  which  have  been  found  suc- 
cessful. 

Many  employers  not  only  fail  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  possibilities  of  growth  in  their  employees  by 
means  of  special  classes,  but  utterly  neglect  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  instruction  of  the 
employee  in  connection  with  his  own  work.  For 


258        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

example,  in  one  institution  coming  under  our 
notice,  the  sixty-five  foremen  were  ordered  to  install 
and  apply  the  bonus  system  of  compensation  to 
employees.  When  the  attempt  to  enforce  this 
order  failed  it  was  found  that  sixty-two  out  of  the 
sixty-five  foremen  did  not  know  what  the  bonus 
system  was,  much  less  what  were  its  workings  and 
results.  While  it  is  not  always  possible  or  desir- 
able to  enlighten  employees  as  to  the  "inside"  rea- 
sons for  issuing  certain  orders  and  adopting  certain 
policies,  as  a  general  rule  people  do  far  better  work 
when  they  know  just  what  they  are  doing  and  why. 
The  effect  of  a  very  little  kindly  instruction  in  this 
respect  has  often  proved  remarkable. 

"MAN  OR  MACHINE  —  WHICH?" 

A  careless  pipe-fitter  was  returned  to  the  employ- 
ment department  by  his  foreman.  He  had  been 
"called"  and  warned  repeatedly,  but  still  his  work 
was  unreliable,  and  now  he  was  sent  back  to  the 
employment  department  for  discharge.  The  em- 
ployment supervisor  talked  with  the  man,  asked 
him  a  few  questions,  and  learned  that  he  had  little 
conception  of  the  purpose  and  importance  of  the 
work  entrusted  to  him.  His  foreman  was  called  in 
and  both  men  were  given  a  vivid  word  picture  of 
what  happened,  perhaps  a  thousand  miles  away 
from  the  factory,  when  pipe-fitting  was  defective 


EDUCATING  EMPLOYEES  259 

in  the  company 's  product.  Not  only  did  the  work- 
man go  back  to  his  work  with  an  inspiration  that 
made  him  more  accurate  and  careful  thereafter, 
but  the  foreman,  with  this  object  lesson  before 
him,  by  the  same  kind  of  careful  instruction  im- 
proved the  efficiency  of  several  others  in  his  depart- 
ment. 

In  this  same  factory,  the  employment  supervisor 
encountered  a  man  who  had  been  working  for 
twenty  years  making  one  small  part,  not  knowing 
where  it  fitted  into  the  finished  product.  It  may 
be  true,  as  some  critics  have  observed,  that  the  man 
was  lacking  in  imagination  and  initiative  or  he 
would  have  taken  the  pains  to  learn  for  himself. 
And  yet  that  his  employer  was  even  more  to  blame 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  when  the  fascinating 
story  of  that  little  piece  of  machinery  was  told  by 
the  employment  supervisor  the  old  man  almost 
wept  with  emotion,  and  thereafter  what  had  been 
dull  routine  work  became  almost  a  religious  rite 
with  him. 

Stand  a  man  before  a  machine  ten  hours  a  day, 
simply  feeding  in  material,  turning  handles,  and 
pulling  levers.  The  work  requires  no  thought,  no 
particular  skill,  no  originality,  no  initiative.  There 
are  certain  definite  movements  for  the  man 's  hands, 
just  as  there  are  for  the  cogs  and  levers  of  the  ma- 
chine. As  he  stands  there  day  after  day,  the  man 


260      ;  THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

feels  that  he  is  but  a  slave  of  the  machine,  that  to- 
morrow some  inventor  may  design  an  attachment 
that  will  do  his  work  more  swiftly  and  more  ac- 
curately than  he.  The  machine  will  eventually 
wear  out  and  be  tossed  upon  the  scrap-heap.  The 
man  knows  that  he,  too,  will  eventually  wear  out 
and  be  tossed  upon  the  scrap-heap.  Is  it  strange 
that  so  many  feel  that  they  are  slaves  to  the  machine 
and  grow  discontented,  embittered,  and  ready  for 
riot  or  revolution?  But  let  that  man's  employer 
educate  him  to  understand  the  machine  and  its  proc- 
esses, so  that  he  can  devote  his  thought,  his  orig- 
inality, his  initiative  to  the  improvement  of  that 
machine  or  to  the  invention  of  a  new  one  that  will 
displace  it  altogether,  and  what  a  different  point 
of  view  he  has.  He  is  no  longer  slave  but  master 
of  the  machine.  He  rises  superior  to  it,  because  by 
the  exercise  of  thought  he  can  improve  or  even  re- 
place it.  This  thought  is  developed  in  a  masterly 
way  by  Al  Priddy  in  his  book,  "Man  or  Machine 
—  Which?" 

Institutions  where  employees  are  thus  educated 
and  where  suggestions  from  them  are  made  wel- 
come and,  when  found  worthy,  are  rewarded,  have 
profited  greatly  by  reason  of  improvements  sug- 
gested by  employees.  But  they  have  profited  even 
more  by  the  psychical  and  educational  effect  of  the 
sense  of  mastery  thu?  produced. 


EDUCATING  EMPLOYEES  261 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  great  and  too 
often  unused  educational  and  inspirational  value 
of  the  history,  policies,  traditions,  and  ideals  of 
the  organization.  An  efficient  employment  depart- 
ment never  loses  sight  of  the  truth,  in  every  phase 
of  its  work,  that  its  supreme  duty  is  to  secure  for 
the  institution,  not  the  large  bones  and  muscles 
and  weight-lifting  strength  of  men,  but  their  high- 
est and  best  constructive  thought  and  feeling. 

ADAPTING   EDUCATION   TO   THE   INDIVIDUAL 

In  educational  circles  we  are  hearing  more  and 
more  of  the  cry  that  instruction  must  be  adapted 
to  the  individual.  We  are  learning  that  it  is  waste- 
ful and  inefficient  to  put  every  child  through  the 
same  ironclad  routine  of  school  work.  The  prin- 
ciple is  sound,  and  is  nowhere  more  thoroughly 
understood  than  in  an  employment  department 
organized  upon  the  basis  of  the  plan  we  are  pre- 
senting. Supplementing  education  of  the  general 
character  already  suggested  in  this  chapter  and  in 
special  night  and  day  classes  of  various  kinds,  the 
employment  department  instructs  each  employee 
upon  two  very  important  phases  of  his  relationship 
to  the  organization.  First,  each  employee  receives 
careful  instruction  as  to  the  standard  requirements 
of  his  particular  position.  His  duties  are  definitely 
outlined  for  him,  and  the  qualifications  he  must 


262       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

possess  and  develop  for  their  most  efficient  per- 
formance are  stated.  He  is  given  specific  instruc- 
tion as  to  his  own  mental  and  physical  equipment 
with  reference  to  these  qualifications,  and  how  he 
may  develop  and  improve  it.  In  various  ways, 
according  to  his  type,  he  is  encouraged  and  stimu- 
lated to  live  up  to  the  standard  set  for  him.  Sec- 
ond, he  is  carefully  taught  what  line  of  promotion 
will  best  fit  his  particular  case  and  how  best  to  fit 
himself  to  grow  into  more  and  more  responsible 
and  better  paid  service. 

In  general,  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  department 
to  give  every  man  work  that  will  keep  him  stretch- 
ing upward  to  do  it — a  job  just  a  little  bigger 
than  he  is;  so  that  he  has  before  him  always  an  in- 
centive to  grow  up  to  his  opportunities.  Fear  of 
punishment  must  frequently  be  used,  no  doubt,  to 
drive  a  man  out  of  the  depths,  but  only  hope  of 
reward  can  lead  him  up  to  the  heights. 

There  is  no  greater  natural  resource  than  the 
latent  intellect  and  psychical  force  of  our  people. 
Largely  because  we  have  left  the  development  of 
these  possibilities  to  chance  or  to  charity,  we  strug- 
gle to-day  against  an  incredible  inertia  of  ineffi- 
ciency. Because  we  have  left  these  fertile  fields  to 
grow  up  to  weeds  or  to  be  cultivated  by  the  igno- 
rant or  the  designing,  we  are  sometimes  frightened 
when  we  awake  to  the  menace  of  a  harvest  of  class 


EDUCATING  EMPLOYEES  263 

struggle  and  revolution.  Only  through  wise  and 
scientific  education  and  development  of  our  workers 
shall  we  overcome  these  threatening  tendencies  in 
our  body  politic,  and  begin  to  utilize  for  ourselves 
and  for  the  race  the  unmeasured  latent  aptitudes  of 
man  applied  intelligently  to  the  infinite  resource* 
of  the  universe. 


CHAPTER  XV 

VOCATIONAL   GUIDANCE 

THE  problem  of  better  methods  of  employ- 
ment and  more  harmonious  relationship 
between  employer  and  employee  is  of  such 
acute  and  immediate  importance  that  it  takes  form 
in  the  minds  of  many  thoughtful  people  as  an  im- 
minent crisis  in  human  affairs.  And  yet  it  is  only 
a  part  of  a  still  broader  and  still  more  insistent 
problem.  A  very  great  deal  of  the  mischief  of 
unfitness  of  man  for  his  job  is  done  before  the  young 
person  presents  himself  for  employment.  Parents 
and  teachers,  groping  in  the  dark,  have  long  been 
training  natural  born  artists  to  become  mechanics, 
natural  born  business  men  to  become  musicians, 
and  boys  and  girls  with  great  aptitudes  for  agri- 
culture and  horticulture  to  become  college  pro- 
fessors, lawyers,  and  doctors. 

The  waste  of  splendid  human  talent,  amounting 
in  some  cases  to  positive  genius,  as  a  result  of  the 
obstinacy  of  parents,  the  out-of-date  traditionalism 
of  our  schools,  and  the  utter  ignorance  of  both,  is 
distressing.  In  our  experience,  covering  a  dozen 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  £63 

years  of  careful  investigation  and  the  examination 
of  many  thousands  of  individuals,  we  have  seen 
so  much  of  the  tragedy  of  the  misfit  that  it  seems 
at  times  almost  universal.  The  records  of  one  thou- 
sand persons  taken  at  random  from  our  files  show 
that  763,  or  76.3  per  cent.,  felt  that  they  were  in 
the  wrong  vocations.  Of  these  414  were  thirty-five 
years  old  or  older.  Most  of  these,  when  ques- 
tioned as  to  why  they  had  entered  upon  occupa- 
tions for  which  they  had  so  little  natural  aptitude, 
stated  that  they  had  either  drifted  along  lines  of 
least  resistance  or  had  been  badly  advised  by  par- 
ents, teachers,  or  employers. 

HOW  TALENT  GOES  TO  WASTE 

We  knew  a  wealthy  father,  deaf  to  all  pleas  from 
his  children,  who  spent  thousands  of  dollars  upon 
what  he  thought  was  a  musical  education  for  his 
daughter,  including  several  years  in  Europe.  The 
young  lady  could  not  become  a  musician.  The 
aptitude  for  music  was  not  in  her.  But  she  was 
unusually  talented  in  mathematics  and  appreci- 
ation of  financial  values,  and  could  have  made  a 
marked  success  had  she  been  permitted  to  gratify 
her  constantly  reiterated  desire  for  a  commercial 
career.  This  same  father,  with  the  same  obsti- 
nacy, insisted  that  his  son  go  into  business.  The 
young  man  was  so  passionately  determined  to 


266       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

make  a  career  of  music  that  he  was  a  complete 
failure  in  business  and  finally  embezzled  several 
thousand  dollars  from  his  employer  in  the  hope  of 
making  his  escape  to  Europe  and  securing  a  musical 
education.  Here  were  two  human  lives  of  marked 
talent  hopelessly  ruined  and  wasted  by  a  well-in- 
tentioned but  ignorant  and  obstinate  parent. 

A  few  years  ago  a  young  man  was  brought  to  us 
by  his  friends  for  advice.  He  had  been  educated 
for  the  law  and  then  inherited  from  his  father  a 
considerable  sum  of  money.  Having  no  taste  for 
the  law  and  a  repugnance  for  anything  like  office 
work,  he  had  never  even  attempted  to  begin  prac- 
tice. Having  nothing  definite  to  do,  he  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  dissipated,  and  when  we 
saw  him  first  had  lost  confidence  in  himself  and  was 
utterly  discouraged.  "I  am  useless  in  the  world," 
he  told  us.  "There  is  nothing  I  can  do."  At  our 
suggestion,  he  was  finally  encouraged  to  purchase 
land  and  begin  the  scientific  study  and  practice  of 
horticulture.  The  last  time  we  saw  him  he  was 
erect,  ruddy,  hard-muscled,  and  capable  looking. 
Best  of  all,  his  old,  petulant,  dissatisfied  expression 
was  gone.  In  its  place  was  the  light  of  worthy 
achievement,  success,  and  happiness.  He  told  us 
there  were  no  finer  fruit  trees  anywhere  than  his. 
Such  incidents  as  this  are  not  rare  —  indeed,  they 
are  commonplace.  We  could  recount  them  from 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  267 

our  records  in  great  number.     But  every  observant 
reader  can  supply  many  from  his  own  experience. 

THE    VOCATIONAL   MOVEMENT 

It  is  a  crime  that  thousands  of  young  men  and 
women  should  be  encouraged,  every  year,  to  enroll 
in  schools  where  they  will  spend  time  and  money 
preparing  themselves  for  professions  already  over- 
crowded and  for  which  a  large  majority  of  them 
have  no  natural  aptitudes.  A  prominent  physician 
tells  us  that  of  the  forty-eight  who  were  graduated 
from  medical  school  with  him,  he  considers  only 
three  safe  to  consult  upon  medical  subjects.  In- 
deed, so  great  is  the  need  and  so  increasingly  serious 
is  it  becoming,  as  our  industrial  and  commercial 
life  grows  more  complex  and  the  demand  for  con- 
servation and  efficiency  more  exacting,  that  pro- 
gressive men  and  women  in  our  universities  and 
schools  and  elsewhere  have  undertaken  a  study  of 
the  vocational  problem  and  are  earnestly  working 
toward  a  solution  of  it  in  vocational  bureaus,  vo- 
cational schools,  and  other  ways,  all  together  com- 
prising the  vocational  movement. 

Roger  W.  Babson,  in  his  book,  "The  Future  of 
the  Working  Classes:  Economic  Facts  for  Em- 
ployers and  Wage  Earners,"  says:  "The  crowning 
work  of  an  economic  educational  system  will  be 
vocational  guidance.  One  of  the  greatest  handi- 


268       THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

caps  to  all  classes  to-day  is  that  90  per  cent,  of  the 
people  have  entered  their  present  employment 
blindly  and  by  chance,  irrespective  of  their  fitness 
or  opportunities.  Of  course,  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand  is  continually  correcting  these  errors;  but 
this  readjusting  causes  most  of  the  world's  disap- 
pointments and  losses.  Some  day  the  schools  of 
the  nation  will  be  organized  into  a  great  reporting 
bureau  on  employment  opportunities  and  trade 
conditions,  directing  the  youths  of  the  nation  — 
so  far  as  their  qualifications  warrant  —  into  lines  of 
work  which  then  offer  the  greatest  opportunity. 
Only  by  such  a  system  will  each  worker  receive  the 
greatest  income  possible  for  himself,  and  also  the 
greatest  benefits  possible  from  the  labours  of  all, 
thus  continually  increasing  production  and  yet 
avoiding  overproduction  in  any  single  line."  That 
the  main  features  of  the  system  suggested  by  Mr. 
Babson  are  being  made  the  basis  of  the  vocational 
movement  is  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the 
times. 

FACTORS    OF    THE    VOCATIONAL    PROBLEM 

The  vocational  problem  consists:  first,  of  the 
need  of  accurate  vocational  analysis;  second,  of  the 
need  of  wise  vocational  counsel;  third,  of  the  need 
of  adequate  vocational  training;  fourth,  of  the  need 
of  correct  vocational  placement. 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  269 

It  is  obvious  that  the  vocational  problem  cannot 
be  adequately  solved  by  dealing  with  pupils  or 
clients  in  groups  or  classes.  It  is  a  definite,  spe- 
cific, and  individual  problem.  Group  study  is  inter- 
esting and  instructive,  but  alone  does  not  give 
sufficient  knowledge  of  individual  peculiarities  and 
aptitudes.  It  is  obvious  from  the  foregoing  analy- 
sis of  the  vocational  problem  that  it  is  practically 
identical  at  all  points  with  the  problem  of  scientific 
employment.  Just  as  the  highest  efficiency  of  the 
employment  department  depends  upon  accurate 
analysis  of  the  job  and  of  the  man,  so  the  highest 
usefulness  of  the  vocational  bureau  or  vocational 
expert  depends  upon  complete  and  exact  knowledge 
of  the  requirements  in  different  lines  of  endeavour, 
and  the  ability  to  analyze  human  nature  accu- 
rately. It  is  obvious  that  wise  counsel  cannot  be 
given,  adequate  training  cannot  be  prescribed,  and 
correct  placement  is  impossible  until  these  analyses 
have  been  properly  made. 

The  child  or  adult  of  unusual  ability,  with  well- 
marked  inclinations,  and  strong  in  the  fundamentals 
of  character,  is  never  difficult  to  analyze,  counsel, 
train,  or  place.  If  given  an  opportunity  to  gain 
knowledge  and  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  choice,  he 
will  almost  surely  gravitate  into  his  natural  line 
of  work.  He  is  not  the  real  problem  of  the  voca- 
tional expert.  But  the  vast  majority  of  children 


270,;      THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

are  average  or  even  mediocre.  They  show  little 
inclination  toward  any  study  or  any  work.  They 
have  weaknesses  of  character  that  will  inevitably 
handicap  them  no  matter  what  vocation  they  enter. 
They  are  the  real  problem.  There  is  another  class, 
almost  equally  distressing.  They  are  the  people 
who  are  brilliant,  who  learn  easily,  and  who  are 
so  adaptable  that  they  can  turn  their  hands  to 
almost  anything.  They  are  usually  so  unstable  in 
temperament  that  it  is  difficult  for  them  to  persist 
in  any  one  kind  of  endeavour  long  enough  to  score  a 
success. 

METHODS    OF   ANALYSIS    IN    USE 

The  need,  in  dealing  with  these  problems,  for 
some  more  reliable  guide  than  the  young  person's 
inclinations  and  preferences  has  deeply  impressed 
itself  upon  those  engaged  in  vocational  study  and 
vocational  work.  They  are  earnestly  seeking  to 
find  or  to  develop  some  better  way.  To  this  end, 
we  have  the  questionaire,  by  which  it  is  thought  to 
bring  out  between  the  lines,  as  it  were,  the  partic- 
ular aptitudes  and  disposition  of  the  subject. 
And  this  method  is  not  without  its  advantages. 
We  have  also  psychological  tests.  These  are  of 
fascinating  interest  and  have  yielded  some  valuable 
results.  Some  vocational  workers  use  the  psycho- 
logical tests  and  some  do  not.  Even  those  who  are 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  271 

most  enthusiastic  for  them  admit  that  they  are  com- 
plicated, that  they  require  expensive  apparatus 
and  specially  trained  examiners,  and  that  even  the 
best  results  obtainable  cover  a  very  narrow  field  in 
the  character  and  aptitudes  of  the  subject. 

KIND    OF    METHOD    NEEDED 

The  present  need  is  for  some  uniform,  readily 
applicable,  inexpensive,  and  comprehensive  method 
of  analysis.  The  advantages  of  such  a  method  are 
immediately  apparent:  First,  its  uniformity  would 
permit  the  making  of  records  for  comparison,  cover- 
ing a  very  wide  range  of  subjects,  environment,  and 
vocations.  Second,  even  the  simplest  classifica- 
tions which  are  readily  learned  and  easily  applied 
by  the  inexpert  would  yield  tangible  and  measur- 
able results  and  would  be  far  better  than  the  pres- 
ent unstandardized  and  wholly  unscientific  meth- 
ods. Third,  were  such  a  uniform  method  adopted 
and  made  a  part  of  the  vocational  work  of  our 
Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  our  social  settlements,  our  public 
schools,  our  colleges  and  universities,  and  other 
institutions;  were  uniform  records  to  be  made  and 
every  subject  analyzed,  followed  up,  and  his  career 
studied,  we  should  within  one  generation  have  data 
from  which  any  intelligent,  analytical  mind  could 
formulate  a  science  of  human  analysis  very  nearly 
approaching  exactitude.  Fourth,  as  the  result  of 


272        THE  JOB,  THE  MAN,  THE  BOSS 

the  application  of  such  a  uniform  method,  the 
principles  of  human  analysis  would  rapidly  become 
a  matter  of  common  knowledge  and  could  be  taught 
in  our  schools  just  as  we  to-day  teach  the  principles 
of  chemical,  botanical,  or  zoological  analysis. 

In  the  industries  the  scientific  selection,  assign- 
ment, and  management  of  men  have  yielded  in- 
creases in  efficiency  from  100  to  1,000  per  cent. 
The  majority  of  people  thus  dealt  with  were 
mature,  with  more  or  less  fixity  of  character  and 
habits.  Many  of  them  were  handicapped  by  iron- 
clad limitations  and  restrictions  in  their  affairs 
and  in  their  environment.  What  results  may  be 
possible  when  these  methods,  improved  and  de- 
veloped by  a  wider  use,  are  applied  to  children, 
with  their  plastic  minds  and  wonderful  latent  pos- 
sibilities, we  cannot  even  venture  to  forecast. 


THE  END. 


TEE  COUNTRY   LIFE  PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


YC  8 72 1  / 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


